The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori
by KaitoKorenji
Summary: This is a story written by myself about a male teenager who embarks on a quest to avenge the murderers of his siblings, the last remaining family he had left. Kai Shihatori seeks to kill the people who killed his siblings. But will the answers he obtains along the way be too much for even him to bear?
1. Chapter 1 Return of the Shadow Prince

div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"1 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 1: The Return of the Shadow Prince/div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"The winter air rolled through the 16th District of the Shadow Realm as the sun rose the morning of December 19 in the year 4900. District 16, which was located in the heart of the Shadow Realm, was bustling with people preparing for Christmas in advance. They were shopping for presents, hanging up decorations, and setting up to have large Christmas parties. The holidays were a time where the ruling families of each District would gather together at the Shadow Mansion, a place where only royalty such as the members of each family that controlled one of the 16 Districts can enter, to celebrate their continued rule. However, there was one family that would not be attending the gathering./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"The Korenji were a prideful family that ruled the 16th District of the Shadow Realm from the city of Noshashida. 14 years earlier, the Korenji were all massacred by the warriors of the Realm of Chaos except for the second eldest son Kaito, his younger sister Sika, and his twin younger brother Kai. It was September 9th 13 years later when the Korenji's second eldest son Kaito and his younger sister Sika was murdered by an unknown army bearing red crosses. The graves of the two Korenji were found dug outside of the burned down mansion where the Korenji lived, but the whereabouts of Kai were yet to be found. It was believed that Kai had committed suicide somewhere or was captured by the army and imprisoned. However, there were a selected a few people who believed that he was still alive./div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"In the Shadow Hall's ballroom, the ruling families of the 15 Districts as well as the Ikuto family, the ruling family from the Shadow Realm's closest ally The Realm of True Existence, were gathered for their annual banquet. Miroku Ikuto, the head of the Ikuto household, tapped his glass a few times to create silence in the ballroom. "If I may have your attention for a moment, I would like to give a speech I wrote." His voice echoed around the room as he spoke. He moved his red hair out of the way revealing his golden irises. He took a look at his daughter Mizuka, who had happened to have fallen in love with Kai Korenji and was emotionally destroyed by the rumours that he had died, before beginning his speech. "Over the past 1 and a half decades, we have lost countless people. However, we knew not when we would lose those people just as we know not when we will lose the next person. It is a great tragedy that the Korenji have been completely wiped out. They truly were great people with honor and pride and fought til the end. Just this past year we have lost both Kaito and Sika and we have yet to locate Kai. We must, however, move on and select a new family to rule District 16. If there is no family that would-" Miroku was suddenly cut off by the opening of the doors to the ballroom. All the attending families turned to the doors and they were all left speechless and shocked at the arrival of a man. /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);" /div  
div style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961); font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0980392);"The man had golden blonde hair that reached down his back and crossed the center of his face just above his nose. His outfit was a black and white kimono-like robe with a red Phoenix on the back of it. A sheathed sword was strapped to the left side of his waist along with a pistol strapped to the right side of his hip. His navy blue sneakers caused his footsteps to echo around the ballroom as he walked down the center of the rows of tables and onto the stage. His aura was a dark, almost sinister, and could be felt with each step he took. The gaze of his crimson red eyes did not leave the audience of District leaders that sat before him as he grabbed the microphone. "I can see you all don't remember me based on your expressions. Allow me to refresh your memories. My name is Kai Korenji, brother of Kaito, Sika, Kamiko, Kinagi, and Kiroda Korenji. Or at least that's what I used to be known as. My NEW name is Kai Shihatori. Although my family may be gone, I am still here to rule the 16th District. On that note, I would like to publicly make the following statement: I will find the bastards responsible for the deaths of my brother and sister and if anyone of you get in my way..." He paused for a second and shut his eyes slowly, then opened them revealing a dark glow in his crimson eyes. He drew his sword and threw it up at a bird that had made its nest above the glass ceiling. The ceiling shattered and when the sword came back down to his hands seconds later, the bird's corpse had the blade shoved through its chest. Kai ripped the head of the bird off and consumed it as if it were a rice ball. "...I will strike you down without hesitation." He ended his statement and the rest of the bird burned up and vanished. Kai walked to the back table and took a seat at the table, leaving the entire room in a state of complete shock. They had all known Kai to be nicer, friendlier, and without a doubt one of the most child-like teenagers that had grew up there. However, he seemed to have changed for the worst, longing to avenge his fallen brother and sister./div 


	2. Chapter 2 Phantom VS Shadow

2 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori: Chapter 2: Phantom VS Shadow

The banquet concluded shortly after the arrival of Kai, whose change in personality shocked each of the Districts. Word of Kai's return spread quickly throughout the Shadow Realm and soon enough, the media's reporters hounded him for answers. However, the attempted forced interrogations by the news crew were halted upon a letter dropping from the sky. "I heard you are strong. Meet me in the park at 1:00pm today. Signed, Shadow." Kai rolled his eyes at the sudden challenge. Not even a day had passed since he returned and he was already being challenged. He looked at his watch and saw that the time was12:55pm.

Kai entered the park at around1:15pm, carrying a couple of snacks. "You are Soo late!" A man said as he approached Kai. His hair was whitish and his eyes were a pinkish red. He was dressed like a thug: in a leather jacket with ripped jeans and a T-shirt underneath. "There was a sale on jelly beans and ice cream. So I assume you're this Shadow person?" Kai replied popping a few jelly beans in his mouth. "My name is Kyohei Hirakari, but everyone calls me Shadow. Hope you're prepared to-" At that very moment, Kai appeared in front of Kyohei as if he had actually teleported and side kicked him up into the air as if he were a soccer ball. Kyohei fell all the way into the fountain. "Hey! I wasn't ready for that!" Kyohei said staggering out of the fountain and walking up to Kai. "It's not my fault you're reflexes are lacking." Kai replied already seeming to be bored with his opponent.

Kyohei took a few steps back and began to smirk. "Alright, you asked for it." He suddenly vanished from normal sight, moving at an incredible speed. His strikes attacked Kai from different directions rapidly. Kai dodged each strike with extreme ease. "Is that the best you got?" He said almost yawning from the predictability of this so-called "Shadow"'s attacks. He was about to reach in his bag of jelly beans when the unexpected happened. One of Kyohei's punches knocked the candy as well of the ice cream out of Kai's hands. "Haha! I bet you didn't see that coming!" Kyohei said appearing where the jelly beans had landed on the ground. "Hope this crap was worth being late for the fight!" He stomped on the jelly beans til they were all squished.

Kai's crimson eyes were suddenly iced over like an evil, homicidally angry psychopath. He said nothing but clenched his fists. "You're going to regret you ever did that." He said, his voice sounding more and more devilish as his eyes suddenly began to glow a darker crimson. Kai appeared behind him punching him directly in the back, before appearing in front of him and sweeping his leg. He did a handstand beneath Kyohei and kicked him up in the air, in a similar way the Lions Barrage is done. He launched himself up in front of him and hit him with multiple rapid punches and kicks to his face and his stomach. He was moving so fast that Kyohei couldn't counter him in time. He did a corkscrew over the now groggy and delirious Kyohei, hooked his arms behind his back, and did a frontward roll to the ground that would look like he was Spin Dashing, slamming him face first into the ground. Keeping his arms hooked, he placed his foot on Kyohei's back and pulled his arms back. "How do you stop a butterfly from flying?" Kai asked with a sadistic grin crossing his lips. "I-I give up man...I give up! You win!" Kyohei surrendered, but Kai wasn't through with him. He imitated a buzzer noise and stomped his other foot on his back while keeping himself standing by making him fall to the ground and stepping on his back while pulling on his arms. "Eeerrrrr! Wrong! You break his wings off!" Kai pulled both of Kyohei's arms directly out of the socket and off his body. "AHHHHHHHHH!" Kyohei's screams echoed around the entire park as he rolled around on the ground in pain. "You shouldn't move around too much. You might cause the blood to pour out even faster."

Kai teased as he unsheathed his sword. He held it like a golf club and lined the blade with Kyohei's throat. "FOOOORRRRREEEE!" He yelled as he not only sliced Kyohei's shoulders clean off his shoulders, but also sent the head flying in the same gesture. After that, the flow disappeared from Kai's eyes and he disposed of the mess with his shadows.

As Kai was returning to his burnt down mansion, the glow suddenly returned to his eyes and he was taken into a flashback. It was the time when Kaito saved him from a bully when he was only 5. He was a lot nicer then than the way he was now. Suddenly the memory began to change into something different. It was a secret entrance that led to some kind of tunnel underneath the mansion. At the end of the tunnel was a bright reddish orange sword sticking out of a pedestal. After that, the flashback ended and Kai snapped back into reality. He staggered a bit from the pain of an extremely large headache. It was then when he heard a voice in his head say to him.."Your reason for existing is to strike down friend and foe alike and to bring destruction to the world..." After hearing those words he passed out on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3-1 Christmas with the Ikuto

3-1 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 3: Christmas with the Ikuto Family Part 1

The light of the sun touched Kai's face as it rose into the sky. He woke up to find himself in a room that was fancy enough to belong to a rich person. He stretched his arms above his head as a yawn exited his mouth. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his sword rested by the side of the bed. He picked it up as he scanned the setting that he had awoken in. On the wall hung a family portrait, from which Kai concluded the mansion belonged to the Ikuto family. But for what reason did they bring him to their home and how did they managed to locate him?

Kai suddenly felt the presence of another person heading to his room. Upon hearing the rattle of the doorknob, he flicked the hilt of his sword out of his sheath a tad bit in preparation of an attack. The door swung open and before he knew it, Mizuka Ikuto, a girl who was clearly infatuated with him, tackled him as he stood up, causing him to fall back onto the bed. "You had me so worried, my dearest Kai." She said as her crimson hair fell in front of her clear, blue eyes. "What am I doing here?" Kai asked as he moved her off of him. He never understood why Mizuka had chosen to fall in love with him and her methods of showing her affection crossed beyond the borders of insanity. "I was out shopping the other day and on my way home, I saw you passed out in front of where your mansion used to be. So I brought you back here so that I could nurture you back to full health myself." She replied with a blush as she attempted to hug him. 'Thats right,' Kai thought to himself ". 'I had passed out after hearing those voices. What was that all about and what were those weird images?' Kai's trail of thought was interrupted by Mizuka suddenly hugging him from behind. "How about we live together? I already asked Father and he said that you can stay here as long as you need to." She said with a delighted smile. He immediately tensed up at her words, knowing that her version of that statement meant something like marriage. As the thoughts of Mizuka being his wife, it caused him to shudder greatly. However, he had nowhere else to go with his mansion being destroyed. After a moment of thinking of a way, he came to a reasonable solution. "Alright. I accept the offer of staying at the Ikuto mansion. But only until I am ready to take my revenge and eradicate my siblings' murderers. " He said rising to his feet and putting on his outfit from the other day.

Kai spent numerous hours that day in the training yard after breakfast. His swordsmanship was tested by the simulation duel machines the Ikuto family had installed on the grounds. Here, a person could set a training regimen and spar in different methods with warriors of various skill levels in almost too realistic battles. In other words, the wounds that a person receives during their training would actually affect them in reality too. Kai chose the Free-for-All setting, in which he would face numerous warriors at once. He set the number of opponents to 1,000 and took a fighting stance in the center of the yard. The terrain around him changed into that of a battlefield, which was part of the simulation experience. Left and right, hundreds of warriors charged at him from over the horizon, wielding their carefully crafted weapons of choice. At first, Kai easily defeated a few hundred of the samurai. However, since the difficulty had been set to "Extreme", the opponents he faced were rather difficult to defeat. They attacked in numbers to better inflict damage on him, but were defeated one by one. After about 5 hours, Kai's body was on the verge of collapse after defeating his 800th opponent. He was covered in injuries and wounds just about most of his body and was breathing rather heavily. The only thing keeping him up was his sword which was stuck in the ground. A samurai approached him and raised its sword to strike. Kai quickly pulled his sword out and in a last bit of energy blocked the attack. His sword, like his body, was scratched up and ready to give out. It began to crack until finally the sword was destroyed, causing Kai to drop back a few steps. The samurai moved in for the kill when the opponent suddenly stopped moving. The field had turned back to the grounds of the mansion and the samurai and the other remaining warriors disappeared. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mizuka running towards him. "That's enough Kai. If you keep pushing yourself, you're going to die." Her voice was full of worry as she attempted to tend to his wounds. Kai was about to pass out when suddenly his eyes opened brightly and the crimson glow returned to memories of the deaths suddenly ran through his mind once again. He smacked her hand away from him and his hair fell in front of his face. "Kai..?" Mizuka began to speak, but was interrupted by him. "You fool. I won't...die here...not until...I avenge Kaito and Sika..." His voice seemed a bit broken as he rewatched the horrifying moment over and over. A sword materialized in his hand and the sinister power that radiated from him on the day that kept playing in his mind once again radiated from his body. He aimed the sword at Mizuka and raised his head revealing his tearful, glowing eyes. "I'll kill you if you get in my way!" He spoke in an eerie voice. Mizuka couldn't help but feel bad for her troubled friend, even though she trembled before his new power. She opened her mouth to speak when a new person entered the yard. Her father appeared behind Kai and knocked him unconscious with a blow to the back of the neck. He fell into Mizuka and the sword vanished from sight. Mizuka and her father carried the blonde-haired teen back upstairs to his bedroom and tended to his wounds before leaving him to rest.


	4. Chapter 3-2 Christmas with the Ikuto

3-2 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 3: Christmas with the Ikuto family Part 2

Kai ran his fingers through his long blonde hair after waking to find himself once again back in the Ikuto guest room. All the injuries he had suffered in the training room were bandaged, however they seemed to have slightly disappeared. He heard the voices of Mizuka and her father discussing a topic that sounded as if it involved him. "I've seen the look in his eyes out there that demons could only DREAM of possessing," her father spoke. "B-but are you sure about this?" About Kai turning into a demon?" Mizuka responded in a slightly frightened tone that was mixed with concern for her childhood friend. "He has lost pretty much everything and everyone that had value to him. At this moment, revenge is the only thing left driving him. If no one stops him, I'm afraid he'll turn into a monster among monsters."

Kai refused to hear more of their conversation and he slipped on his black cloak and opened the door. "If you're going to chat about someone, make sure to do it somewhere your voices can't reach their ears," he said as he walked past the two Ikuto. "K-Kai where are you going?" Mizuka attempted to follow Kai, but her father thwarted her by placing his arm out in front of her. "Well for one. I need a new sword if I'm going to fight. So I'm going to go get that sword that's underneath the mansion that your father most likely knew about as well as my own. It's power is said to be immensely powerful so it should prove useful." He replied, his movements not showing any signs of being wounded. "Take Mizuka with you. If the situation calls for it, then she will be able to assist you by healing any injuries you should get," her father suggested moving his arm to allow his daughter to pass. "Whatever. Just don't come crying to me if she winds up dying," Kai disappeared around the corner after replying with these words. "Mizuka, you must act with extreme caution. The sword Kai must have been talking about was the Shadow Slayer. It is said to have wiped out armies of demons in one fell swoop. It's resting place underneath the mansion is carefully protected with intensely strong demons and without a sword, Kai may need your help." Her father warned her. Mizuka nodded her head and quickly ran after Kai. "But how exactly did he know where it was?" He asked himself as he watched the two teens leave for the Korenji mansion.

It was a somewhat short path to the remains of the Korenji mansion, even though they had to walk through Noshashida to get there. Kai seemed rather agitated for some reason, which would explain the silence he put between himself and Mizuka. Mizuka wanted to say something to him, anything at all to quell his anger. However she feared the worst response to her kindness from him. It wasn't very likely that anything she had wanted to say would even come out right. Some of the passing by people watched on as the Shadow Prince led the young red-haired female through the streets.


	5. Chapter 3-3 Christmas with the Ikuto

3-3 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori: Chapter 3: Christmas with the Ikuto family: Part 3

Kai and Mizuka returned to the grounds of what was left of the Korenji mansion. After clearing away some of the debris, they found a secret door in the ground. Kai went in first grabbing a torch as he was followed by Mizuka. They had entered a secret tunnel that resembled a sacred passage with ancient writings carved into the wall. "Th-this place is really scary." Mizuka trembled behind him. "Quit complaining. You could have waited outside like I told you to." Kai answered her in a serious tone. Mizuka's footsteps suddenly stopped which caused Kai to stop and turn around. "Okay, that's it. What the hell is going on with you as of late? You've been acting differently since you came back." She finally said after a few moments of silence. "You've...you've changed, Kai..." Kai only stared at her with his crimson eyes. He eventually turned back to the path and kept walking. Mizuka waited a few moments before following him in silence. She recalled the moments where he was actually nice and carefree. _Is he really gone? Is the person I fell in love with so long ago really gone, replaced with this guy?_

Eventually, Kai and Mizuka came to a wide open lair that looked like the resting place for the city of Atlantis on land. On a pedestal high above t pyramid-shaped hill was a shining sword with a red hilt and a white Phoenix on it. "That must be it...You stay here Mizuka." Kai said running up a cliff and jumping to the pyramid. When he reached for the sword, he quickly retracted his hand and jumped back as a blast of fire just barely missed him. A dragon flew from the sky and attempted to attack Kai with its wing. It then perched itself in front of the sword, blowing it's fire into the air. Kai picked up a few rocks and threw it at the dragon, hitting it in the face directly to grab it's attention. "You're only making it angrier, Kai!" Mizuka called out from the sidelines as Kai launched himself into the air to dodge the dragon's fire. Kai did a forward flip and dropped the dragon with a kick to the top of the head, and springboarding himself towards the sword. Something about the blade seemed way too familiar. When his hand made contact with the sword, a crimson energy began to surround himand his eyes began to glow a bright red. The sword began to change into a larger blade with a hilt like that of a Phoenix's wing. "Holy shitcakes this is incredible power." He muttered to himself with disbelief at the new found energy running through his body.

However, The dragon returned to its feet to bring the celebration to an end. It let out a loud roar that echoed around the area they were in. The sounds of flapping wings and dragon roars could be heard as reinforcements arrived on the scene. "You think you're so tough just because they're more of you dick breaths?" Kai said holding the Shadow Slayer in a fighting stance. "Then bring it on!" The dragons simultaneously fired a blast of fire at the trash-talking samurai. He responded to this by waving the sword around before sticking it into the ground and standing upside-down on the hilt with one finger. The fire absorbed into the sword and reflected it back with greater power at the dragons, which immediately turned into nothing but dust in the wind. The aura around Kai suddenly disappeared and his eyes returned to normal once he sheathed the sword. Mizuka was already running to him and hugged him tightly. "That was incredible Kai!" She exclaimed. "Well-" Kai had started to say when the enter tunnel began to shake and boulders and stuff fell from the ceiling. "It's collapsing!" Mizuka cried out and clinged to Kai. Kai held onto her and hopped through the obstacle course of falling rocks as if he could very well see them before they fell. Boulders had blocked off their original path, so they had to try their luck with the other path. Kai and Mizuka travelled for about an hour and a half before seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. However, rocks had started to fall here as well. "We're not going to make it!" Mizuka told him. "The hell we aren't." He wrapped his arm around her back and propelled themselves out the exit with a jump, causing them to roll along the ground. The sounds of the waves crashing against the shore could be heard so they had exited at the beach. Mizuka looked over at Kai and gave him a smile. "You saved me...thank you Kai." She said with a respective bow. "It's nothing. Your dad would have killed me if you had died." He replied with a chuckle.

Suddenly snow began to fall from the night sky in little portions. They had been out all day on Christmas Day and were hours away from home, so they decided to spend the evening together. Mizuka was shivering from the cold air since her Ikuto uniform was a short-sleeved shirt and a skirt. Kai took off his cloak and wrapped it around the young girl and stared up at the sky. "Kai..." She said quickly looking over to him as she touched the cloak. "You said I changed, right?" He cut her off with a question of his own. "That's what happens when you are forced to watch your loved ones killed in front of you, especially if they were all you had left. There are people in this world who lose their humanity and turn into complete monsters or demons or maybe even both..." He turned to her and placed his arm around her shoulder and brought her close to him. "But I promise you I won't ever become one of those people. I won't lose myself in my rage. And when it's all over, I'll be who I've always been." Mizuka blushed a tint of red as she closed her eyes and rested against him. When she was fast asleep, Kai picked her up princess style and carried her back to the Ikuto mansion. He placed her in her bed and tucked her in before retreating back to his room. He fell asleep not too long after settling into his bed, unaware of the dangers that would soon confront him in the days following.

"So he's that strong, huh? Stronger than he was before the attack? Interesting..." A girl who would be about the same age as Kai with long, pure white hair spoke in a not so far away land while she drank a cup of tea. "That's correct. And we have received word that the Shadow Slayer is in his possession." An older woman reported fixing her glasses as she spoke. The younger girl began to look out through the window, taking the blue rose out of hair and letting it flow with the wind. "Wait for me..." She spoke out softly to the window. "...my dearest Kai Shihatori..."


	6. Chapter 4-1 Camping Trip in Akihara

4-1 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 4: Camping Trip in the Forest of Illusion and Deception Part 1

It had been three months since Kai had retrieved the Shadow Slayer, a sword that possessed incredible strength to its weilder, from the catacombs underneath the remains of the Korenji Mansion. In that time, he became a little bit livelier than he had been prior, though not much. He had volunteered to help around the Ikuto mansion and running errands for them whenever they themselves were either unable to accomplish them or asked his assistance. Although he enjoyed helping them and even saw it as a way of thanking them for their hospitality, he was often way too busy to learn the power that the sword contained, Not to mention he had never actually used it since escaping the underground tunnels with Mizuka.

Kai sat himself up in his bed, startled from his slumber by the dream he had been javing early that morning. In his dream, a girl with long white hair in a blue dress was laid out beside him in a valley of blue roses and just like most dreams, the setting and actions around them changed on its own accord. But through every thing that Kai had done in the dream, the girl remained by his side and acted with him. Just when she was about to learn the name of his female companion on the Astral Plane who claimed to be his wife, the very same man who had killed his brother Kaito and his sister Sika appeared behind her, stabbing the white-haired female in the back with his sword. After catching her in his arms, the warmth leaving her body, the shock caused Kai to awake abruptly.

Troubled by the dream and unable to return to sleep, Kai decided that going for a leisurely stroll through town would take his mind off things. The lights of the buildings, homes, and shops that illimunated the city of Noshashida shimmered brightly, although its beauty pailed in comparison to that of the star-lit sky. Dressed in his black cloak over his somewhat radiant crimson red and black samurai robe that was designed for the purpose of being the traditional outfit for a member of the Shihatori family, which only consisted of himself at the moment, Kai wandered aimlessly around the city, deep in thought about the Shadow Slayer. What purpose could the Korenji have had for hiding the sword far beneath the mansion and what power could it hold? How much longer would he be able to stay with the Ikuto family before his quest for revenge causes him to leave them?

Out of the corner of his eye Kai noticed that a young teen carrying groceries were being hassled by a couple of older man and forced into a nearby dark alleyway. His thoughts being interrupted by the two men presented Kai with an opportunity too great to pass up: A chance at using the Shadow Slayer. His lips formed a smirk at the sudden fortunate turn of events. He approached the dimly lit alley and peered inside to observe the situation. It was then that he realized the teen was Mizuka. His lips formed a smirk at the sudden fortunate turn of events. "Looks like I'll get to test out this bad boy after all..." He chuckled, entering the alley and throwing a small rock at one of the older men. "Oi, dipshits." He called out to them just to further received their attention. "If you're looking for a good time, then you should come with me. I promise I'll be gentle," he teased them, provoking one of the males into pushing Mizuka to the ground. "Who da hell do ya think ya are, chucking rocks at adults? Don't ya know that we're older than ya and ya need to show us respect? We saw her first, so she's ours," he said pulling out his weapon: a 357 Magnum. "Yea, bro. You tell 'em. Show us respect, apologize, and beat it. If ya don't, we'll end ya right here," the other male added pulling out his own automatic machine gun. "Yeah...nah, I don't respect incompetent morons who are so desperate to get a girl that they would force one into the alley and attempt to have their way with them. I DEFINITELY don't respect people who are about to taste my blade." Kai responded, unsheathing the Shadow Slayer. "Kai..." Mizuka whispered softly, the concern for her friend obvious in the expression on her face. "Oh, and allow me to correct your earlier claim and tell you where you fall a few cards short of a full set. I've actually seen the girl over there way before you even laid eyes on her. And unlike you dumbasses..." For a moment, Kai seemed to have vanished from sight. In actuality, however, his movement towards the first male in front was faster than the human eye to track him, especially considering that they were nowhere near his level in combat. When he reappeared, he was standing behind the male. He hoisted his sword over his shoulder, the pistol the male was holding suddenly falling to the ground in pieces followed by the male's lifeless corpse. "...I know how to treat a woman properly."

The other male, obviously terrified by the abnormality of the speed that Kai possessed, grabbed ahold of Mizuka. Using one arm, he held a pistol that he had taken out of his pocket and pointed the barrel at the skull of Mizuka. With his other hand, he aimed the machine gun at the blonde-haired samurai. "St-stay away...I'll shoot her...!" He threatened. Without a moment's hesitation to even consider the situation, Kai took a few steps towards the male, who responded by pulling the trigger of the machine gun invoking a panickingly crazed frenzy of bullets aimed at Kai. Kai outstretched his hand and caught each one of the bullets fired at him until the entire clip was empty. "Awww...you seem to be out of firepower," he teased, exerting fire energy into the bullets to give them an energy boost and causing them to light on fire. "Allow me to return it all to you..." He said, flicking one of the bullets at the man, not only knocking the gun out of his hands but also exploding the weapon on the spot. Completely scared for his life, the male released Mizuka and ran down the other end of the alley. Unfortunately for him, not only was the alley way too long for him to make his escape successful, but he only continued to excite Kai. "Oh, I just LOVE a moving target!" He declared, firing the rest of the bullets at the man as he ran. Upon making contact with the male's body simultaneously, the bullets exploded all over his body, burning it alive before vanishing completely. Kai then turned his attention to Mizuka, extending his hand out to her. "You sure know how to get yourself in trouble," he said to her. Mizuka grabbed ahold of his hand and rose to her own feet. "You almost killed me right there!" She whined, picking up her bags of groceries. "Nah...I'm sure you would have been fine. Besides, I wasn't even paying attention when I shot that first bullet," Kai replied, picking up some of her shopping bags to carry for her. Together they left the dark alley, leaving behind the broken gun, the male who had been sliced in half, the ashes of the other male, and multiple signs of a fire burned into the ground and the walls surrounding the alley.

"A family trip?" Kai asked Mizuka on the way back to the Ikuto mansion, the warm light of the rising sun at their backs. "Yeah, I was out shopping for tthe trip. This year we're going to Akihara Forest," Mizuka answered cheerfully, carrying a few of her shopping bags full of snacks and camping gear while Kai carried the rest of her groceries. "And this is just a guess, but you probably want me to come along with you, don't you?" Kai asked as they arrived at their destination and entered the gates of the Ikuto mansion. "Well of course silly," Mizuka giggled softly placing their bags in the van that they were preparing for the trip. The Ikuto family, which consisted of Mizuka, her parents Miroku and Mai, her younger twin brothers Kentarou and Koutaro, and her older sister Izumi, were already piled into the van when Kai and Mizuka got in. "Oh, there you two are," Mai said. "Sorry for making you guys wait," Mizuka sincerely apologized as she took the seat next to Izumi in the back seat, leaving Kai with the seat between her and the window. Miroku started up the van and drove out through the gates of the Ikuto mansion. Kai looked out at the remains of the Korenji Mansion, the home he had cherished with the people he loved, a quick flashback to the night his mansion was invaded and his brother and sister were taken from him playing through his mind. He pondered the question of if he would ever return to his home and if he would, will his wish of being reunited with his family be accomplished if he can successfully obtain revenge over the person who took them away.


	7. Chapter 4-2 Camping Trip in Akihara

4-2 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 4: Camping Trip in the Forest of Illusions and Deceptions Part 2

Akihara Forest, also known as the Forest of Illusions and Deception, located between the 14th and 15th Districts of the Shadow Realm at the northernmost tip of the Realm. From the 15th District going north, an individual would have to first pass through this dense forest to reach Akihara, the wealthy city in the 14th District. However, with all the mysterious sightings and disappearances that occur in this vast land of trees filled with wild animals and such, who knows what dangers await those who attempt at passing through.

The van that Kai and the Ikuto family drove to the entrance of the Akihara Forest in finally arrived at their destination after a 5 hour drive from the 16th District. They each took a camping bag filled with the gear they may or may not be using during the trip out of the car before returning the vehicle to its compressed crystalized form, which was then placed in Miroku's pocket. Upon entering the forest, led by Miroku and Mai, the presence of magic made itself known around them. "Stay close together. This forest has a set path, meant to keep invaders locked. If you stray from the path, you will end up being sent in circles trying to get out." Miroku explained. Together, the group began their trip through the mysterious Akihara Forest.

After hours of enjoying the beautiful sights of the forest and observing the wildlife, the group decided to set up camp since the sun had already begun to set, indicating night drawing ever nearer. Kai noticed that both Mizuka and her two younger brothers, Kentarou and Koutaro, were having some minor difficulties pitching their tents, so he decided to help them out by explaining to them how to do it before setting up his own. After they were all finished setting up their campsite, they all gathered around a fire built by Mai and Izumi. "Does anyone know the legend of this forest?" Miroku asked when everyone had finished their dinner of rice and curry. Everyone looked amongst each other, but no one could answer the question they had been given. Seeing this, Miroku began his explanation. "They say that this forest was a normal forest until one day an enchanter placed a spell on it. This spell made it so that if a person was to take a path not chosen by the enchanter, they will be lost in the fog that usually rolls out at night. The only way to escape this spell is if you return to the path. However, most people lost in the forest never remember the path back to the main one. While they are caught in the fog, they begin to hallucinate certain memories and visions." And with that story, the group exchanged different stories and rumours surrounding various places before they all retired to the safety of their tents for the night. Kai was moments away from drifting off to sleep when he heard a familiar feminine voice that entered one ear and trailed throughout his head, the sound of which came from outside his tent.

Kai opened the entrance of his tent, peering through the opening in search of the location of the voice. His attention was fixed on a white-haired female dressed in a blue dress with a blue rose in her hair a good distance away from him, just as the female in his dream the night before wore. The female slowly raised her pale hand, gesturing for the blonde male to come with her before turning and walking of. Hesitating to blindly follow the young maiden, Kai ultimately decided that his encounter with this girl in his dreams and now in reality had some meaning and that following her could give him some answers to his questions. After a few moments, a dense fog covered the air around them, alerting them that they had wandered off the path. The time they spent walking seemed to have gone on for hours, but in actuality, it had only been an hour at the most. Finally the girl ceased her guiding footsteps in an open area, one where the fog was somewhat lighter and non-hindering to their sight. The two stood a few feet apart from one another, their eyes locked in a fierce battle of figuring out the other.

"Based on your reaction, I take it that you have no memory of who I am." The girl finally spoke a very clear, eloquent and rather soothing tone in her voice. "I suppose that I'll have to somehow jog your memory." With those words, she held her arm out to her side, a sword materializing in her hand. "I honestly have no clue who you are, but if you want to fight, you'll get no mercy from me." Kai replied, removing the Shadow Slayer from its sheath. The wind gently blew a leaf from the branch of a tree and gravity carried it downward, fluttering to the awaitng ground below, signaling the start of the fight ebtween the two samurai, who both anxiously rushed towards each other till their swords collided. With no victor for the opening clash, both warriors leapt backwards after a few moments, immediately throwing themselves back into the battle with a flurry of strikes in perfect harmony. After about half an hour to 45 minutes, neither of them seemed to have been able to grab the advantage, the distance between them reestablished once again. "I have to admit, you're not bad. I especially assumed that that dress would have slowed you down quite a bit." Kai stated, a smirk crossed his lips as he brushed his bangs out of his face. It had been some time since he had enjoyed a duel with someone on an equal level to him. "But if you hope to defeat me, you better stop holding back." The girl's mouth showed a bit of surprise, her lips parted, but it was soon replaced with an amused smirk. "So you've noticed...Very well." She replied, shifting her body into the stance that Kai had created and mastered. /That stance...how does she know about that stance...?/ Kai thought to himself. The blade of her sword radiated a dark aura, the gentle breeze transforming into a violent windstorm that uprooted trees and created sparks. The girl then lunged forward, clashing her sword with Kai's with a stronger swing. Kai, feeling the sudden shift in his opponent's power with that clash, retreated backwards. Although the girl wouldn't allow him to get away, leaping forward and attacking him once again. Stuck on the defensive for the first time in years, Kai was forced to resort to narrowly evading the girl's attacks. Then, the unexpected would happen.

"Shadow Style: Dance of the Blade!" The girl incantated, her already impressively difficult to dodge strikes becoming nearly impossible for Kai to keep up with. /This is...Yes, I'm sure of it. This is one of the attacks in my arsenal that I created./ Kai said to himself once again, his reaction time unable to completely dodge her attacks. Her blade struck Kai, slicing at his arm, chest, cheek, leg, and pretty much anywhere she managed to slice, occasionally moving around him and attacking him from behind. The impact of her final strike was enough to send the blonde male back quite a few feet, blood trailing down his arm and legs, causing him to fall to one knee. "That stance...that move...those both things that only I know the secrets of. Who are you and how do you know about them?" Kai asked, his breathing becoming much more heavy from the wounds he bore. "You still don't remember me? After all, you were the one who taught me." The girl frowned, the disappointment in the failure of her plan causing her to lower her head. "Taught you? I have never seen you before in my life." Kai responded. The white-haired female lowered her sword gripping the blade more firmly in her hand. "Why...why don't you remember me?" She asked, raising her head, revealing the salty liquid exiting her eyes and trailing down her cheeks. Suddenly, a woman with long, red hair appeared and crystal blue eyes, dressed in a black and white assassin's uniform appeared next to the snow white-haired female, wiping the moist tears from the maiden's eyes with a small cloth. The redheaded woman then turned to Kai, the ice in her stare causing a nostalgic air to sweep over Kai, providing him with an image of his sister Sika's other half Juliet. She then turned back to the white-haired female, whispering in her ear, which then led to her sheathing her sword. "Thank you..." She said to the redhead before turning her attention back to her blonde opponent. "It seems it is time for me to go, but this will not be the last time we meet. Here, take this as a memento." She removed the blue rose from her snowy white hair and tossed it to him, who caught it with ease. "Til we meet again, my dearest Kai Shihatori..." Kai attempted to chase after them, but quickly fell back to one knee due to his injuries. When he returned his focus back to the spot where they were standing, the two woman had already vanished.

"Just who in the hell were those women? And how did that girl not only know my name, but also my stance and attack?" Kai asked himself out loud as he used his sword as leverage to rise to his feet. The wounds inflicted by the mysterious white-haired girl burned as he struggled to keep himself standing. The words of the maiden with whom he had encountered in battle moments earlier ran through his head, however he attempted to ignore them to the best of his ability. His top priority at the moment was to return tp the campsite as quickly as possible. He limped in the direction of where he and the girl had entered the space from and where he and the Ikutos had set up camp, the problem of time growing. The continued loss of blood took effect on Kai, causing his vision to distort and becoming blurry. As his energy faded, flashbacks of how happy he was, his family, and then finally the memories of the massacre of his clan and the brutal murder of his brother Kaito and his sister Sika flooded his mind. "I...I can't...die here...I must...avenge...them all..." he said to himself as he could feel himself beginning to pass out. The sight of the camp eventually came into view at the light of the morning sun. He could barely make out Mizuka and Izumi helping their parents pack up the gear and bags. He could only assume Mizuka had noticed him because her voice called his name repeatedly and the sounds of her footsteps rushing towards him grew louder. However, his body couldn't hold out long enough for him to respond to her voice, giving into exhaustion and collapsing on the ground. "Will I...die here..? Is this...the end of the line for me...? I can't...die just yet...not until I avenge them...all..." Kai's voice inside his unconscious body rang throughout his mind, slowly trailing off into a warm light.


	8. Chapter 5 Departure

5 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori Chapter 5: Departure

Trapped in his mind after losing consciousness, Kai could feel his body enveloped by a cold heat. His body laid in pure darkness where light could not reach, unable to make a single movement. "This feeling...could it be the cold hand of death?" Kai spoke, closing his clear, sapphire eyes. He thought about the souls of his siblings, who were wrongfully removed from this world. "I'm sorry...I don't think I will be able to avenge you both..." He whispered as a tear ran from his eye and trailed down his cheek. "Are you really giving up that easily? And here I thought you were stronger than that," a voice came from above him. Kai opened his eyes once again to see himself staring down at him, only there was something off about him. The Kai that stood over him had eyes of the darkest crimson and his aura seemed more sinister than his own. "Don't tell me you're my self-conscience or something," Kai questioned the other. The red-eyed male gave a slight smirk before imitating a buzzer. "Bzzt. Wrong answer. I'm the true Shihatori that has been asleep inside your body. In a sense, you're my reincarnation. Although I haven't really died, I've just been sealed in here since you were born. Something big must have happened for me to awakened like this." The other Kai explained, placing his hand on the forehead of the blue-eyed Kai. A bright glow of energy appeared around his hand before infiltrating his body, returning the warmth to his body and restoring his ability to move. "Ah, so that's it...Very well. I will assist you in accomplishing your goal, but right now, your power is seriously lacking. You need to become stronger," the Shihatori said. "There is a battle approaching fast that only you can win, but if you die here, you will never even make it to the battlefield. You must become more powerful if you ever wish to stand a chance against this new opponent." The blue-eyed Kai rose to his feet, staring closely into the crimson eyes of the true Shihatori. "Oh, and two more things..." The Inner Kai added just as the darkness slowly started to vanish. "...Don't die...And beware the Blue Rose..." After speaking those words, the other Kai disappeared along with the vast darkness and the air was suddenly filled with a warm light, the touch of the iridescent shine causing the young warrior to awake and return to the world of the living.

Kai stirred himself back to reality, gently rubbing his hands against the lids of his sapphire eyes while he sat up. He almost immediately recognized the location he woke up as his room in the Ikuto mansion. "This better not become a recurring cycle..." He thought to himself. He attempted to exit the bed only to be halted by the sudden pain in his chest that rapidly spread throughout certain areas of his body. The covers fell from his body revealing multiple bandages wrapped around the areas where the pain resided most. "You're still injured, so you should stay in bed..." A voice came from the doorway. Kai's eyes narrowed towards the direction of the voice, finding Mizuka leaning against the door. The redheaded female pulled a chair to her patient's bedside and sat herself beside him in it. "You're going to be alright after a few days or so, but you've lost quite a lot of blood. Those bandages..." She gestured towards the wraps that covered his left arm, upper left chest, right rib cage, right and left legs, shoulder and cheek. "They're special because they help quicken the recovery of injuries." Mizuka's golden eyes were suddenly clouded with concern and sadness after once again examining his wounds. "What happened to you out there?" She asked, surpressing the urge to cry until receiving his answer. Kai stared at her for a few moments before a soft sigh escaped his parted lips. "You'll probably bug me until I tell you so I'll save you the trouble." A small smile appeared on the face of Mizuka by that response, but she did not speak a word. "I got into a fight..." As he spoke, a flashback from the fight he had with the white-haired girl raced through his mind. "...and I lost without landing a single hit," he finished with a voice of a combination of anger at the fact that he lost and disappointment in himself for getting caught off-guard by the very attacks that he had created and mastered on his own. He clenched his teeth tightly before rolling up his fist and punching himself in the lap. "AARGH! How...how can I be so weak..?" Mizuka placed her hand on the blonde male's hand in an attempt to comfort him. However, after realizing that the male seemed to be inconsolable at the moment, she slowly took back her hand. "I'll go make some tea...you get some rest," she spoke softly to him like a mother whispering to her child before rising to her feet and heading towards the door. As she exited, Kai heard her exhale a rather saddened sigh. A few minutes, 15-20 give or take, past before Mizuka returned to the room only to find that her guest and best friend had vanished. On the night stand by the bedside was a letter that Kai had written. Only four words could be read on the paper: "Thank you and Farewell." Mizuka clutched the note directly against her chest, slowly dropping to her knees over the side of the ebeed. Her eyes, as bright and golden as the rays of the morning sun, now threatened tears. They stared out the open window, which Kai had left open when making his getaway, at the cloudy sky as the rain fell from the heavens. Eventually, resisting the urge to rain tears of her own proved to be futile and her cheeks were stained with the salty liquid from her eyes. Her belief that her childhood friend would stay with her forever was shattered earlier than she had anticipated.

Not faw away, Kai staggered through the bustling streets of Noshashida, his hood hanging over his face to at least protect his face from the rain if only a little. Memories of his fight with the mysterious white-haired girl as well as the massacre of the Korenji family, the family he had been born into, in the past followed by the murder of his siblings Kaito and Sika played like films throughout the theatre of his mind while he once again heard that voice inside of him. "You're weak...you'll never be able to avenge any of them..." the voice spoke to him over and over again. "Stop it...I will avenge them...I'm at least strong enough to accomplish that much..." Kai responded under his breath. "Are you sure about that? That girl kicked your ass because you weren't strong enough to defeat her..." The voice retorted back. Kai placed his hands over his earsand dropped to his knees. "Leave me alone...I'm not weak." His voice shook as he repeated his statement, stubbornly attempting to reestablish control over his sanity. "If you allow the darkness inside you to take over, I'll be able to kill that girl for you and avenge your family. Isn't that what you wanted?" The voice continued its sadistic and relentless assault on Kai's mind. His sapphire eyes slowly but surely receded in size when the fight played back in the head. It was true, That had been his ultimate desire. He then was reminded of what he had said back at the meeting where he made his return. _I will kill the bastards who took my brother and sister away from me and I will cut down anyone who gets in my way._ His clear eyes flashed a crimson red as the shaking in his body eventually halted. Just when it seemed that he was ready to give in to the darkness, his cell phone ringing in his pocket brought him backto reality. He reached into the black cloak he was wearing and saw Mizuka's name on the Caller ID. He shook his head before turning his head towards the heavens, his finger pressing the off button on the phone moments afterwards.


	9. Chapter 6-1 The Golden Hawks

6-1 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori Chapter 6: The Golden Hawks Part 1

For centuries, mankind has prospered in various environments in the many different Realms, expanding their knowledge in numerous fields of study such as technology, medicine, and politics as they evolved, and gradually increasing the population of the world's they inhabit without intervention. Although mankind has always been at war among themselves, human evolution of society and ideals have paved the way for a successful, futuristic, wealthy and advanced species. However, 50 years ago, a new species of creatures had made its presence known in the Shadow Realm's 9th District and now threatens humanity as a whole. No one knew where these creatures originated from, but these beings that resemble the animals of today with the exceptions that certain members of this race can launch acid from various parts of their bodies, that they are dark red with strong armor covering their bodies, and possess a lust for killing, death, and destruction, have evolved over the half a century, perhaps even longer, they have been around, rapidly expanding their population. In due time, they have launch attacks on and invaded the city of Zeta located in the 9th District of the Shadow Realm, laying waste to the entire city and thus driving out, or in most cases, murder any residents they came across. When word of the destruction of Zeta reached the Shadow Realm Council, these creatures became known as Zetans. Even though the Zetans roamed throughout the Shadow Realm and appeared in many other Realms, their attacks on both humans and cities alike weren't as often as people believed. After Zeta was conquered and leveled, the Zetans constructed their nest below the city in tunnels they had created, establish a base of operations and claiming the land as their territory. Occasionally the Shadow Realm sent elite soldiers and warriors to destroy them, however they simply could not stop them. The ones who managed to escape alive were traumatized for life, hospitalized for months on end.

Spring brought with it beautiful flowers and a fresh aroma, even in the area where the mountains overlooked the 9th and 13th Districts. These mountains Kai had been training along in preparation for his quest for revenge were also home to the Zetans as well as other wild animals, making it a decent training grounds. However, his training often caused his already healing injuries to take a lengthier time to heal. "Damn that girl..." The blonde muttered to himself, falling against the rocky wall to support his balance. "When I find her...I'll make her...regret not killing me..." He took a chocolate bar out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and angrily pushed it into his mouth, violently chewing it before the taste calmed him down. Moments after, the roar of a Zetan, which was normally highly similar to the cry of the animal it resembled, echoed through the mountains, followed by the scream of a girl. Kai peered over the edge of the cliff where the noise had came from, observing as a female about his age was cornered by a pack of 5 Okami-Zetan, Zetans with a resemblance to wolves. The female was also a blonde, dressed in a dark green cloak over a white shirt and navy blue pants, black specs covering her emerald irises, and brown boots. The Alpha of the pack glared back at its comrades, as if ordering the others to stay put before charging towards the unarmed female. It raised its sharp paws off the ground, performing an unbelievable feat of standing on its hind paws that normal wolves could not pull off, swiping at the female. The female readied herself to fight, even though it would be futile, awaiting the attack as it drew closer, and turning away only at the last minute. The air suddenly became rather windy before the sound of metal clashing caused her gaze to return in front of her. Standing between her and her carnivorous predator was Kai, blocking the attack of the Zetan with his sheath, managing to push the creature a few feet. The leader of the pack barked towards its idle followers, who responded by encircling the human that interrupted their meal. Having taken their positions, the Zetans lunged towards him wielding their murderous claws. For a brief moment, it seemed as if Kai had vanished. However, he appeared above them watching the confused creatures search for him from a tree above them.. "Up here.." He taunted them, his sword swung over his shoulder while he made faces at them. Two of the Okami-Zetans leapt off the ground with amazing agility and height. Kai launched himself from the tree branch at the first wolf, clashing the blade of his sword with its claws. He exchanged a few collisions between his sword and the Zetan's claws before turning himself upside-down and slicing clean through the armor and flesh of the Zetan just as the second wolf attacked. Managing to ensnare him in an aerial flight where normally the chance of evasion was unlikely, the Zetan resiliently attempted to strike Kai with slash after slash. However, Kai moved his body in different directions, swiftly evading the Zetan's attacks for a good while before flipping himself backwards, kicking the creature into a horizontal aerial position. He then sprung himself after his prey, slashing and hacking at the exposed flesh on its stomach before driving his sword through the heart of the Zetan as he landed on the ground. Before he could remove the sword from the chest of the Okami-Zetan he had slain, the remaining two wolves attempted a two-sides attack on him, both striking from opposite sides of him. As Kai turned, sidestepped, and ducked their attacks, it seemed as if he was dancing. The hungry Zetans were desperate to end the male and return to their meal, viciously swiping their claws at him. Noticing this, Kai rolled backwards out of harm's way, resulting in the double decapitation of the two Zetans. Moments after their corpses made contact with the ground, their skulls followed. Kai grabbed his sword as he executed a well-balanced backflip landing in front of the female.

The wind picked up due to the tension of the stare-down between the Alpha Okami-Zetan and Kai. Kai's clear blue eye met with the Zetan's golden eyes in a fierce lock. The female observed in amazement at the combat ability of her rescuer, but at the very same time feared for his life. He was staring down a Zetan pack leader, one of the adult Zetan's, most knowledgeable and agile of all the Zetans. Defeating such a creature would prove to be an impressive feat not many could accomplish. At the exact same moment, Kai and the Alpha Okami-Zetan rushed towards each other, his blade meeting the Zetan's claws with every strike. Their movement rapidly rose to a speed at which normal humans would be unable to keep up. The clashing of their weapons created numerous clanging noises and sparks from different areas of the area. The girl watching the battle from the sidelines struggled to follow their movements with her eyes, however she could make out a blurry image of the two when their strikes made contact for no more than a second. It was a few moments later that they separated once again. "So this is a Zetan Leader...No wonder why you're an Alpha..." Kai chuckled, spitting a bit of blood and using the back of his hand to wipe the blood from a scratch that appeared shortly after they halted. He narrowed his eyes and the smirk dropped from his face, a more serious expression now visible. He leapt high off the ground, creating a strong gust of wind, and dashed at the beast from above. The Zetan rolled out of the way just as Kai swung his blade. In that small instance, a window of opportunity was opened for the Zetan. Once it quickly returned to its feet, it made a beeline towards the spectating female. Kai skidded along the ground and chased after his prey. At the speed he was moving, it would be impossible for him to stop the creature. He threw his sword at the Zetan, it wisely knocked it back at him. The female crossed her wrists forming a shield with her arms behind which she hid her face. Just when it seemed her fate had been sealed, a blue burst of lightning rushed past the attacking Zetan and prevented the attack from reaching the female. Inside the lightning was Kai, who had not only caught and sheathed his sword, but also caught the claw with his bare hands. "How disgraceful...attacking a female who isn't even fighting..." Kai said, tightening his grip on the wrist of the Zetan, and invoking a wounded cry from the Zetan. It retaliated with a sudden strike at Kai's cheek. However, Kai's grip only tightened from the pain. Unable to dodge the first slash, Kai was forced to move one hand and caught the second attack with that hand. His enemy could only struggle to break his grasp and escape the mercilessly violent electricity Kai sent spiraling throughout its body, instantaneously electrocuting every fiber of its being while causing every fur on its body to stand on end. The excruciating pain eventually led to the beast dropping to its knees. The woman watch in astonishment as Kai lifted the paralyzed Zetan off the ground and launched it into the air with a lethal kick into a backflip. He rebounded his backflip firing himself off the ground like a missile speeding towards his target, leaving a trail of blue lightning in his wake. In no time, he caught up to the Zetan, while it was spinning a few hundred feet above the ground. He delivered a swift punch to its back that sent another surge of electricity through its body while also keeping it spinning in a single spot. "You were a valiant opponent. But it just wasn't your day." Kai said to the Zetan. He then delivered a flurry of crushing blows to the Zetan, circling around the wolfish creature like lightning. Every punch, kick, elbow, knee, and other strikes from Kai sent enough volts through its body to maintain electricity and power within an entire city. Finally, after a drop kick from below, Kai soared above the Zetan, who was barely clinging to the warmth of life, and drove both his feet into the chest of the Zetan, hurdling them towards the ground in an immense burst of acceleration. Upon impact with the ground, a crater was formed with Kai standing atop the Zetan in the center. The destructive force that created the crater lit up that area of the forest by the mountains, the lightning-filled explosion also causing a massive dust cloud. The female, who had retreated to safety behind the rock peered around, seeing Kai walk out of the crater.

"You alright? You're not hurt, I take it? Those creatures can get pretty violent." Kai asked, making his way over to the female. "I'm fine," she quickly replied. She fixed her glasses on her face, pushing them up. Her emerald eyes narrowed away from Kai before she spoke again. "You didn't have to help me. I would have been fine by myself," she added. "Riiiight, this coming from the girl who got herself cornered by Zetans and screamed for help," Kai replied back. The girl's eyes darted back towards the blonde male, her emerald eyes expressing a bit of annoyance and anger. "I was luring them into an enclosed area by playing the part of a helpless girl. I'm actually a rather gifted warrior." She defended herself, placing a hand over her chest. A laugh erupted from Kai's mouth, which was followed by a satisfied sigh. "Alright then hit me." He said with a smile on his face. "Wait what?" "Hit me. Give me your best shot." "I'm not going to fight you." The girl slightly chuckled. She seemed determined not to fall victim to Kai's senseless antagonizement. Kai unsheathed his sword and pointed the tip of the blade at the girl. "Then I'll just have to find out for myself." He swung his sword at the female with a swift strike. She responded with a sidestep, dodging the blade before it could even make contact with her body. Kai quickly rebounded with a flurry of rapid thrusts and slices. However, his unwilling opponent answered with brisk an effortless dodges. "This is so pointless. I don't have time to play with you." The girl breathed. For a moment, she vanished from sight as if she had teleported. A slight breeze passed by the Kai, which took a few seconds to realize it was actually the girl's movement past him. His realization, however, was too slow to react. "What the..?" He began, but was almost immediately interrupted by the girl, who had delivered a violent chop to the back of his neck. The blow to his neck sent pain throughout his body for a brief second and embedded a pained expression on his face, his eyes widened and barely a gasp escaping his lips, before knocking the swordsman unconscious, his lifeless body falling to the ground.


	10. Chapter 6-2 The Golden Hawks

6-2 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori Chapter 6: The Golden Hawks Part 2

As a groggy Kai slowly awakened, the sound of two voices speaking could be heard. He was only able to make out some of the things that were spoken, but it all became clearer as he regained the ability to move his body. Upon softly opening his eyes, however, he found his vision to be slightly blurred. He struggled to identify the two people, but was only able to slightly make out their appearances. "...and his wounds were completely healed by the machines after the treatment, but we ran some additional tests just to be certain." The female voice of a woman with long, light brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a white lab coat spoke. Her pants were entirely concealed underneath the lab coat. "Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to examine him, Doctor." The other voice was a male. The male had snowy white hair with streaks of red, dark red eyes, and wore a mostly red coat that was white, blue, and gold around the collar and down the sleeves in different designs. Underneath it was a white shirt and black pants that were barely visible from Kai's position. "It's no problem. You are one of my most valuable customers," the woman replied with an embarrassed chuckle. "I'll be on my way now. Take care." She said. Her footsteps, the sounds of high heels knocking agains the floor, slowly made their way to the door. The creak of the door was soon replaced with the slam of the door shutting behind her.

"Ah, so you're awake now." The man spoke to Kai after the the woman had exited the room. Kai sat himself up, feeling around him since his vision had yet to return to him, finding himself to be sitting on a comfortable sofa. "Your vision should come back in...3...2...1..." Just as the man had predicted, Kai's vision was restored. Kai observed his surroundings carefully, examining anything that could tell him where he was. To his surprise, he was in a rather large office with a modern decorum. The walls were lined with portraits, one of which was of the man in the room with him, artwork, and certificates. The floor was composed of black square rules with golden lines representing the sides of each square. The ceiling was painted to resemble the night sky when the stars were visible and not a cloud was to be spotted. There were three different tables in the office: a large mahogany desk in front of the massive glass window and where the white-haired man was sitting, a clear table next to the sofa where Kai was sitting, and the final one was a table like the second only a tad bit smaller with chairs pushed in on each side. Along the side of the room there were cabinets, a bookshelf, and a work bench with a variety of tools.

"Where am I exactly?" Kai asked, turning his attention back to the male. "And just who are you?" The man took a sip of the beverage in his cup that had a strong aroma similar to tea before placing the cup back on the small plate on his desk. "My name is Yuuichi Kazehana , the leader of an organization called the Golden Hawks. As for where you are...well, you are in my office at the headquarters of the Golden Hawks." He told him. "The Golden Hawks?" Kai asked. Yuuichi nodded his head in agreement. Noticing Kai's confusion, he continued on with his explanation. The Golden Hawks is an organization that not only specializes in combat, but also utilizes the capabilities they possess to complete tasks and challenges requested by residents from all over the Shadow Realm. "So why am I here?" Kai asked. Although he was intrigued about the Golden Hawks, he still did not understand why he had been brought here. "One of our tryouts brought you here. They have spoken rather highly of you, reporting that you showed incredible combat skill in defeating a pack of Zetans, including an Alpha. All of this while being badly injured. Come to think of it, you and her look very similar." Yuuichi replied, a small grin curving his lips. It took a few minutes to figure out who he was referring to. The realization of himself possibly resembling that person caused Kai to angrily cross his arms over his chest. "In any event, you have been deemed worthy to receive an opportunity to enroll at Arrow Light Academy, the school where teens who pass the Initiation will be attending classes that will improve their knowledge of battle skills, tactics, and how to use your power and also join the Golden Hawks. Should you pass the Initiation, you will be staying in the dorms during your stay at the school. Will you accept it or will you you decline?" Kai lowered his head in thought, his memories once again deciding the next step for him. The reminder of his past flowing through his memory acted as a guide in his quest for revenge. It pained him to recall such events, but lifted his head up masking the pain with a smile.

"Well, it's not like I have anywhere else I can go." Kai finally answered, disregarding the pain in his heart. "I accept." A smile grew on Yuuichi's face, pleased with his decision. He pressed a button on his desk and spoke into a small microphone. "You may send her in now." Kai tilted his head in confusion. "Her?" The door creaked again as they separated. Kai turned towards the entrance to the office, curious to see who had entered. His heart sank when his eyes made contact with the girl he had protected from the Zetans. She was wearing a black and red jacket with a gold vest and a white shirt, a black and white checkered skirt, and her dark, brown boots. "You wanted to see me, sir?" She spoke. Kai felt that it was very unlikely that she hadn't noticed him, which could only mean that she was ignoring him. "Yes Cordelia. I have a request I would like to ask of you." Yuuichi answered, pointing his finger towards Kai. "I don't believe you've introduced yourself yet." Kai looked between the two other people in the room: the guy who was eagerly awaiting his answer and the girl who didn't seem to be looking at him at all. "I'm Kai. Kai Shihatori." He finally spoke. "Well, Kai, now that you are trying to become a member of the Golden Hawks, there are a few things that we must go over. This is one of the first year students, Cordelia Napolitano." Yuuichi turned his attention to Cordelia, an idea popping into his mind. "I'll let you explain." He said to Cordelia. The blonde student breathed before beginning her explanation.

"One of the requirements of the Golden Hawks is that you must attend classes regularly. This building is only a small portion of the school grounds. You can see the actual school building right out that window. " She pointed towards the enormous school building out the massive window behind Yuuichi where the dorms were also visible. "This school, known as Arrow Light Academy, is the home to the finest warriors in all of the Shadow Realm. Members of the Golden Hawks make up small portions of the student body and staff, however only those members know which people are part of the organization. After Initiation, the students are divided into teams of 4, each having their team leader determined by the performance of each member. These teams will remain the same until graduation. However, even after they graduate, members are permitted to choose whether or not they will continue as members of the Golden Hawks or resign." Kai attentively listened to the explanation Cordelia gave, finding this place increasingly interesting. "So...basically we're a secret organization that resides in the school?" He asked, reaching into his pocket, taking out a lollipop, removing the wrapper, and placing the lollipop in his mouth. "That's correct." Yuuichi answered him. "And our purpose is...what now?" Kai followed up, the curiosity in him building ever more. "Our purpose..." Yuuichi pondered his answer for a few moments, gazing into his cup of tea. "Our purpose is to make the world a better place. The job of the Golden Hawks is to rid the world of evil and its creatures, such as the Zetans that threaten humanity. Arrow Light Academy and the Golden Hawks are preparing others to survive against their enemies by harnessing their skills as warriors and training them to improve their fighting styles. Having students take on missions and requests improves their knowledge of the outside world as well as give them the opportunity to earn a reward for the completion of each mission. That is our purpose." For a moment, Kai seemed surprised by how well he answered the question, even more so than he had expected. His lips curved into a smirk, one that expressed his satisfaction. "Well put." Cordelia nodded in agreement. "The Initiation will commence the day after tomorrow at 11:00AM. Tomorrow you will have the entire day to prepare." Yuuichi stated before looking to Cordelia. "Please escort Kai to the ballroom where the others are gathered." Cordelia nodded once again. "Yes sir." Kai casually stood up and yawned, stretching as he followed the other blonde out of the room, the doors closing behind them after they exited.


	11. Chapter 6-3 The Golden Hawks

6-3 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori Chapter 6: The Golden Hawks Part 3

"Nice guy..." Kai said as he and Cordelia walked through the halls of the actual school building after leaving the Golden Hawks HQ and entering the school from the side. The hallways were lined with white doors that complimented the slightly darker walls. Cordelia responded to his attempt at conversation with silence. "You sure know a lot about this school and the Golden Hawks. You must be a respected student member." He continued. He managed to cause a nervous smile to appear on her lips. "Y-yeah, I'm a well-known member of the organization. I doubt you'll even make it through the Initiation." Cordelia finally declared in a forced brave voice that was followed with a hearty laugh. A thought processed in Kai's brain, a smirk developing in place of his grin. "So what's the Initiation like? What's going to happen?" He pretended to be overexcited about the whole thing like a child going to an amusement park. Cordelia stuttered in hesitation prior to answering the question. "W-well...um...I-I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise..." She then realized what he was doing. Or so it seemed. "Wait...you're mocking me, aren't you?" She added. "Of course not. I have no reason to." Kai answered while his eyes examined the people they past. As they came across more and more students, Kai realized that most of the people they passed were either slightly older women wearing a similar school uniform to Cordelia or men wearing a male version of it in the form of a suit. "The uniform looks good on you, it looks a bit snobby to me." He commented, now examining the outfits worn by students without a school uniform. "Wherever you're from, the people there must lack taste in fashion." Cordelia replied. "Actually I'm from the 16th District. Fashion is a distant second or third to combat." Kai locked his fingers behind his head. "Well, here in the 8th District, fashion and combat are equally focused on," Cordelia stated, revealing that that's where they were. "Oh so this is District 8? I haven't really find too at from Noshashida." Kai said, looking off to the side out the vast, glass windows at the different sights. "Then what is someone like you doing all the way out here?" Cordelia questioned, slightly looking back at him. "Well, that's because..."

Kai suddenly stopped talking, his attention directed out the window at eight figures somewhat visible in the courtyard. A group of students, approximately 6 of them, each with thug-like appearances seemed to be hassling two slightly younger teenagers: a male with short, green hair dressed in a navy blue cloak with a good and a woman with long, red hair that draped down her back and eyes of the most valuable gold , wearing a black, sleeveless tee with a pink skull in the center, a spiked collar, ripped jean leggings that exposed her averagely light skin, and huge pair of a darker red headphones around her neck, both wearing brown boots on their feet. "You runts aren't ready to be a part of this school. Why don't you kids run home to mommy and daddy?" One of the students teased, pushing the male teen a few feet backwards and onto the ground behind the female, who stepped in front of her friend with her arms spread out to protect him. "W-we have every right to be here as you do..." The younger male responded. "Is that so? Then prove it short stuff. Why don't you and your girlfriend take us all on?" One of the other students proposed . The female remained silent while the male angrily growled under his breaths. "I'll fight all of you." A voice rang from behind them, causing their curiosity to turn their heads to the direction of the voice. Kai was casually making his way towards them, a lollipop hanging out his mouth, is home approached them. "You think you can just stick your nose in our business and get away with it?" One of the students said. "What, you think you can take us all on?" Another of the students spoke. "Go home kid." Yet another of the students added to the statement. When it didn't seem as if Kai was stopping, the students charged at him, one throwing a punch and the other swung his feet foot for a kick. Kai disappeared from the students' sight only to reappear behind them in front of the two younger teens, who were about his age. He extended his hand to the male on the ground, helping him to his feet. "Now then..." Kai said, catching the students' attention. "...How about we get the party started?"

The students were a tad bit surprised from the speed of Kai's movement, but pushed towards him nonetheless. It began with one student's barrage of rapid punches and kicks and soon became a double team of flurries. Kai responded to this with dodges and blocks, effortlessly evading everyone of their strikes.. He gracefully swayed in the flow of battle, a dancer on the battlefield. He delivered a combo attack to one of the two students, striking when a punch, a discus elbow to the gut, and a roundhouse kick while still spinning. He hopped over the kick of the second student, landing into a handstand, rotating his body while he delivered a break dance style kick to the student. He then back flipped into a spin kick to third student, sending him flying into the nearby tree. The fourth student unsheathed his sword and speedily attacked with various thrusts, putting Kai back on the defensive. Kai sidestepped, ducked, and jumped each thrust of the blade. Realizing that wasn't working, the student switched to slashes, which Kai merely guided different directions. Eventually, he grabbed the blade and pulled it and the student towards him. He grabbed the student's wrist, yanked him down with enough force to bring him down to twirl underneath his arm, and slammed him down by his neck after hooking his arms around his neck from behind. As he hit the ground, he grasped ahold of the legs of the awaiting 5th student, causing him to fall while he bounced back to his feet. Kai front flipped over the fifth student, planting his feet firmly into the chest of the fallen student knocking him unconscious. The 6th and final student attempted to blindside Kai with a kick to the far.. However, Kai rolled out of the way back to his feet. He turned his right shoulder towards the student and lifted his foot high enough off the ground to deliver a bone-shattering kick to his jaw. The beaten, battered and bruised bodies of the students lay about the courtyard, breathing but unconscious. "Come with me.." Kai said to the two teens, who did not hesitate in following him to where Cordelia was watching.

The light of the moon filled the night sky as it rose over the school. The courtyard and walkways that led to different areas of the school were well-lit from the street lamps that lined the paths. Kai, Cordelia, and the two teens had finally arrived at the the ballroom. It was packed with the many entries that were attempting to enroll at the academy and possibly become members of the Golden Hawks. The room had a look of royal beauty, only the most sophisticated wallpaper covered the walls. The floor was carpeted with an image of a golden hawk majestically perched in its nest on a mountain with its wings spread out as if it was striking a pose, a snake ensnared in its beak. Sleeping mat-like beds were placed all over the floor, some occupying it and some waiting to be used. Most of the enrollee candidates were teenagers who traveled from different Districts to go to school here. Some of those people were conversing with others and making new friends. Others were either sleeping or attempting to distract themselves from their anxiety of the Initiation they all would have to go through. Cordelia had disappeared among the crowded ballroom moments after they entered, possibly already to sleep in one of the sleeping bags, leaving Kai and the two teenagers that he had rescued on their own. "I think we should stay with you, in case we get picked on again." The male of the two teens suggested. "You can if you want. I don't mind." Kai replied before walking towards a corner of the room and sitting against the wall. "Thanks for defending us." The male said as the two teens sat across from him on the floor. "It's nothing. I needed a workout and those guys just happened to be in the right place at the right time." Kai replied. "The name is Kai, Kai Shihatori. Who might you two be?" He asked, his sapphire eyes looking between the two teens. "My name is Sora, Sora Cavalira. And this is my friend Rosalie Dilantre, but she prefers being called Rose." The male gestured towards his female companion sitting next to him. "She's kind of a rebel, but she's really nice when you get to know we. We grew up in the 22nd District and decided to join the Golden Hawks." Kai was rather concerned for their safety in traveling such a long way because of their age. However, he was a tad bit more supportive than the students who were bullying them. "I'm almost certain that the Initiation isn't going to be easy for us. They'll most likely throw everything but the kitchen sink at us. Are you sure you're up for this?" He questioned. "We may not look like much, but we are in fact pretty strong. We were just too exhausted to fight with those students. We came too far to turn back now." Rosalie spoke in a firm, strong voice, the determination brimming in her eyes. "We'll pass this Initiation and nothing is going to stop us," Sora added with as much concentration as his partner. A smile painted itself on Kai's face, proud of the words of the people he had met this far and satisfied with the answer he had been given. The ambition that Sora and Rosalie shared would surely take them far. "Very well.. Then allow me to assist you." Kai finally said. The two blinked before exchanging confused expression. "We would be more than happy to have you help us. But why?" Rosalie asked him. A happy memory ran through his mind, his eyes expressing a bit of comfort "You remind me of a person that refused to give up their dream and pushed forward." When neither Sora nor Rose spoke, Kai yawned and softly shut his eyes as he rested his face against the side of his knee. "Well, we should get some rest. We have an entire day tomorrow to prepare for the Initiation." The two friends rested their heads against the soft carpet, pondering what they were in for on the day of the Initiation. The ballroom grew dark moments later and the other enrollees returned to their sleeping bed mats, a silence filling the room other than the sound of soft, peaceful snoring.


	12. Chapter 7-1 Initiation

7-1 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori: Chapter 7 Initiation Part 1

A day came and passed without mercy or consideration for the people attempting to become students at Arrow Light Academy. The wiser of the batch spent the entire day preparing for the Initiation, some of which trying to learn about the test they would be undergoing. Some, like Kai, spent the day crafting weapons for the challenge in hopes that it would be some sort of combat tournament. Sora and Rosalie shopped in the nearby city of Lisette, one of the major cities in the 8th District, for gear, snacks, and other supplies they believed were necessary. Before they realized it, day turned into night and they all found themselves back in the ballroom setting their gear up for the following day while discussing briefly what they had done with that day and exchanging information.

The next morning, a siren blared in the ballroom, startling the enrollees into returning from their dreams. Kai opened his eyes softly, scanning the room for the cause of the alarm. "Attention all participants in the Arrow Light Academy Initiation. You have approximately 20 minutes to report to the aircraft out on the field with your equipment." A woman's voice spoke over the loudspeaker. Kai reached into the pocket of his black and pulled out his phone. The time on his phone had just changed from 9:57 to 9:58, a little early for the test to begin. "Something wrong, Kai?" Sora asked looking towards Kai. The uneasy feeling had swept over as he stared intently at his phone. "Kai!" Sora called out to him again. However, once again he received no response. Rosalie zipped her bag close and hoisted it over her shoulders before standing in front of Kai. The golden-eyed teen snapped her fingers twice in front of his face, almost immediately grasping the attention of Kai and therefore releasing him from his trance-like state. "Huh?" He spoke a bit startled. "Everything alright? You looked like you were in another world or something." Sora asked. For a brief moment, Kai hesitated before replying with a small smile. "Oh yeah, sorry. I guess I'm just a bit tired, is all." Kai's voice may have been full of honesty, but his words had just the opposite meaning written in them. "Well, hurry up and get your stuff. Or we'll just leave you behind." Sora joked, walking off with Rosalie, who passed a glance back at Kai before following her childhood companion. After their exit, the smile had once again fallen from Kai's lips, replaced by a new expression of not only discomfort. He placed his phone back in his cloak and slipped his sash with his sheathed sword attached over his shoulder and exited the ballroom. Uneasiness crept into both his heart and his mind. However, he refused to allow either to interfere with his current goal. The day and time may have been the same as _that_ day, but he would at least need to make it through it for the sake of his quest. As he headed in the direction of the field where the aircraft was located, he regrouped with Sora and Rosalie, just in time to aboard the large plane.

The enrolles filed into the sliding doors of the plane, entering a space large enough to contain them all in it and then some. The room was soon full of chattering among each of the participants, the teams gathering and collaborating information on how they spent the day prior to this and what they had discovered about the Initiation. "So what do you think we'll be doing?" Sora asked Rosalie. Rosalie shrugged, placing her hand under her chin in a thinking position. "Any signs of Cordelia?" Kai cut into their conversation. The two shook their heads, analyzing the room for Cordelia. "Seriously, I can't believe she just up and vanished like that." Kai said, walking off in search of Cordelia. The plane took off of the ground with a whirr of it's engine, rising into the air and soaring throughout the clear, blue cloudless sky. The movement of the plane caused numerous people to stumble and fall to the floor since there wasn't much to keep them in place. When the plane finally leveled out, the enrollees were able to stand properly once again. The plane flew over a 30 minute flight, during which Kai searched the room for Cordelia so he could question her disappearance the day before. His sapphire irises eventually fell on the blonde female he had sought, bringing his search to an end. Cordelia had a bag strapped over her shoulder, wearing her dark green cloak over her clothing just as he was. He attempted to call out to the female, but his words had been interrupted by a gas, a strong one, filling the room. Around him, the students, having inhaled the odor, fell to the floor and became unconscious within a few seconds. Soon enough, Kai had also been hit by the tainted air, causing his body to become heavy with slumber. His eyes struggled to remain open, his body slowly crumbling beneath him. "Knockout gas..?" He spoke in his mind, dropping down to one knee with only a shaky fist keeping him from the floor. His vision had now become blurred, yet another side-effect from the gas. In a final burst of energy, he outstretched his hand to Cordelia. However, by the time he had extended his reach towards her, she had already fallen to the knockout gas. Not long after, the gas claimed its final victim in the form of Kai, sentencing him to a period of unconsciousness.

The pain of a splitting headache greeted Kai the very moment he had stirred from his enforced nap. "Damn it...using K.O gas on everyone like that...Well played, well played." It was an interesting surprise that such a stunt would be pulled by the school, but it wasn't to go without a few complaints from the recruits. "Wait...something isn't right...where am I?" His sapphire eyes carefully examined his new surroundings, the possibilities of his location narrowing down from a list in his mind. It seemed he was in a guest room of some sort, but it was different from the ones he had been in. The design of the room was a more medieval decorum, consisting of many different portraits of kings and queens that once ruled the land, the bright red armor of the knights that roamed across the land as servants of nobility, and a lack of any modern devices such as television, telephones, or even lamps, not to mention the outlets that a person would need to use the devices. The air itself seemed to breathe life during the time the place had been built on the land. Kai lifted his left hand to his bangs, swiftly brushing strands of hair out of his face. What he found that he hadn't expected was that his left hand had been handcuffed. A pair of golden handcuffs with an electronic lock, red and black lights on either side and a slot that was approximately the size of a thin slip of paper on the side had taken his hand captive. The other cuff had been attached to another person's hand, their hand as clear and pale as the moon at night. His eyes followed up the arm of the other person, a wonder filling his mind as to who could the identity of the person he was stuck with be. In a matter of seconds, the curiosity that filled his mind had immediately been replaced with discontent upon confirming that the person was, in fact, the single person he had least liked out of everyone he had met those last few days: Cordelia. A single glance at her peaceful face as she slept revealed a sight like no other, a ravishing young princess perhaps dreaming of a paradise of harmony and tranquility. Her body stirred a bit, showing signs of her awakening. She opened her eyelids slowly, the emeralds now visible in her eyes, that which fluttered steadily like a butterfly or the flapping wings of a majestic bird along with the breezy air. She raised her hand to her mouth, exhaling a gentle yawn. Her gaze eventually fell upon Kai, then to the handcuffs that bound their hands together, back to Kai now with cheeks tinted reddish pink like cherry blossoms. Her attempts to speak were silenced, though her mouth remained open and sounds of seething escaped her lips. She searched and searched for the words to vocalize her reaction, however nothing came to mind. As her eyes locked with his, an unreasonable anger developed in her heart. Her body responded accordingly to her rage, directing her free hand to ball itself into a fist and deliver a swift swing at Kai, landing a violent punch to his left eye. The unsuspecting male fell onto his side with his back facing Cordelia, burying his eye into his palm while he writhed in agony.

Meanwhile, in a room similar in design and size to the one Kai and Cordelia were in, Sora had woke up to find Rosalie seated beside him with her headphones over hear ears, her rock music blaring loud enough for him to be able to hear it. Her golden eyes averted from the phone in her hand and fixed a gaze to her childhood friend, a stare that shown neither a warm, friendly expression nor a heartless, non-caring one. She placed her hands on the speakers of her headphones and slid them down along her hair to her neck, expressing caution so as to not snare her hair in the sides of the headset. "You sure took your time waking up," she spoke a bit annoyed. Although he was uncertain about it, Sora strongly felt that the knockout gas had put her in a somewhat foul mood. He forced a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten her mood even a little. "S-sorry about that Rose.." Sora sheepishly replied. He soon took notice of the golden handcuffs with a red and green light on the sides. His right hand had been cuffed to Rosalie's, which could have possibly been a factor in causing her to be upset. "I wonder where we are..." He spoke to himself. A few moments of awkward silence past before Rosalie broke the silence. "The door is sealed with an electronic lock..." She pointed to the door with the countdown timer on it. The timer had been set to 30 minutes and counting. "...So when the timer hits zero, we should be able to leave." Sora finished her statement. "That's just about right. When this is over, let's get something to eat." Rosalie answered, holding her free fist out towards Sora. "Yeah, sounds good. Only if this time you actually pay for this time." Sora chuckled, bumping her fist with his own. The two shared a heartily laugh before Sora took a book out of his to read while Rose went back to listening to her music. It seemed that her mood had changed for the better once she knew that her friend was alright, her worries now put to rest.

"This is definitely your doing, isn't it?" Cordelia continued her rage, placing Kai in a headlock using the very hand that was cuffed to his. "Why in the heck would I handcuff myself to you, you crazy diva?" Kai spoke as he felt the air was drained from his lungs. "To do perverted things of course. Confess now!" Cordelia quickly answered. "If I wanted to do those things you're accusing me of, I would have just cuffed you to the bed, dumbass." Kai could slowly feel himself fading out as every little bit of oxygen was forced from his body. Just as his body was about to collapse, Cordelia released him from her grip. Kai heavily panted, placing his hand over his throat as the flow of air was restored. "You...could have...killed me..." He breathed, glaring threateningly at the blonde female. Cordelia did not seem to be paying attention as she was analyzing the craftsmanship of the handcuffs. "It's not my fault you struck me as the perverted type." She replied, her eyes falling on the lights. "As if I would do anything like that with you of all people." He replied. Cordelia's emerald hues instantly darted to Kai, following his statement, her left eye twitching angrily as the blonde female once again replied. "And what is that supposed to mean?" Her voice was calm, however it was abundantly clear that his words had lit a spark in her mind. "Oh, was it not obvious already? You. Are. Not. Pretty. At. All." Kai explained as a sinister from crossed his lips, completely aware that he was only fueling the raging flames of anger that were growing within her. Cordelia cocked her arm back for a second strike, but when she swung it forward, Kai was already prepared to block it. "Not this time, princess." He said in regards to the attitude she was showing at the moment. Cordelia stared at him for a few moments in a way that merely reinforced how she was annoyed with Kai's antics. The room was rather silent within the few moments with the exception of the ticking of the clock on the wall. Eventually, Cordelia gave in to his attempt to calm her down, sucking her teeth in defeat before snatching her hand out of his grip. "Whatever." She finally spoke in a somewhat calmer manner, lifting her cuffed right hand and pointing to the attached handcuffs. "Anyway, I'm willing to bet that you can just shock these cuffs off with your lightning powers." Kai's face portrayed confusion at her words, an absent-minded stare evident in the blinking of his eyes. "What are you on about? I don't have anything like that." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. A light chuckle exited Cordelia's mouth. "Hahaha, very funny, Shihatori. I know you're just trying to get me back for attacking you earlier." She was positive that, on that day they had first met in the mountains, his attacks had some type of lightning powers with them. "UM...no. I have the ability to summon and manipulate shadows. Look." Kai held out his right hand and slowly raised it upward. From his fingertips, a shadow extended before vanishing from sight. "That's so stupid..." Cordelia commented, with a sly laugh. "Shh...that's not all..." Kai said. Out of the ground rose more shadows in the form of hands. Kai reached into his cloak, pulling out a jumbo candy bar. He tossed the candy into the air and moved his hands in slicing motions. The shadows moved accordingly and slicing the bars separately, with the wrapper gently floating to the ground while the broken piece of the chocolate fell towards Kai, who was prepared with his jaw spread as far as he could manage, catching it and the rest of the pieces in his mouth. "You'll understand what it really does when I use it in battle." Kai explained after viewing the confused expression on Cordelia's face. "Are you serious? THAT'S your ability?" Cordelia questioned, heeling over while the first genuine laugh she's ever made roared at the demonstration he had given. The shadows disappeared shortly after the mocking of his power ended. Cordelia brushed her long blonde bangs out of her face and exhaled an amused sigh. "Slicing open candy bars? That's rich, especially for your level of hand-to-hand combat. For your entertainment, I'll show you what I can do." She said after regaining her control of herself. Just as she was about to begin her own demonstration, a loud "BEEP!" came from the entrance to the room. The timer on the door had finally reached zero and the door itself unlocked with a click. It then slid open on its own, triggering Kai's instinctive caution mode. Outside the door on the wall directly across from their room was a large monitor. On the side of it was a note with "TURN ON" and an arrow pointing to the power button. Kai and Cordelia slid off the same side of the bed, with some difficulty of course, and walked out the room and into the large hallway. The eerie silence in the air was discomforting, almost as something would jump out at them at any given moment. Cordelia heaved a sigh before pressing the indicated blank screen disappeared and flickered a bit before stabilizing the face of a familiar person. "Hello and welcome to the Initiation of Arrow Light Academy. I am the headmaster of this school and Leader of the Golden Hawks, Yuuichi Kitamura." The easygoing yet inspirational leader began his explanation for the enrollees who stood before the monitor, including Kai, Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie. "You have been selected among many of the others to enroll at this academy. However in order to become a student, you will have to overcome a difficult obstacle devised by some of the teachers here. Each of you have been split up into pairs for this mission, two pairs of each having the same color handcuffs on their wrists. Your task is to meet up with your pairs in this mansion and locate the ballroom where you will find a key card. The key card will remove your handcuffs when you insert it into the cuffs. After that, you must then escape to the outside of this palace through the front doors of the mansion. Your acceptance will be determined based on your performance, finish time, and teamwork. However, that doesn't mean that it will be a safe mission. Beware of the Zetan that guard the paths . The ones who are able to survive this Initiation will be accepted to this academy. As for those who fail to be accepted, you will be given the opportunity to try again next year. Do your very best and work together with your partner. If it comes to it, there are teachers on standby to retrieve any students who appear to be in danger or don't make it within a certain time. I hope to see all, if not most of you as students after the Initiation. Be careful...and try to make it out alive." The screen flickered once again before returning to its black screen.


	13. Chapter 7-2 Initiation

7-2 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori Chapter 7: Initiation Part 2

Throughout the mansion, the enrollees had begun their Initiation, moving in the pairs they had found they were handcuffed to when they had came to. The mission to locate the ballroom and retrieve their key cards was now underway. The team of Sora and Rosalie, who understood each other better than their own parents and got along better than most teens their own age, were off to an especially progressive start. On the other hand, there was one particular combination that had been unable to even commence the task; their inability to cooperate with the suggestions of the other kept them from moving from the starting point. This pair consisted of the unlikely team of Kai and Cordelia. At first, they attempted to venture in opposing directions only to be suspended a few feet apart by the chain of their restraints that held their wrists hostage. A few moments passed before they finally spoke words to each other. "What do you think you're doing? I won't allow you to make me fail or slow me down," Cordelia started as she angrily turn to face her insubordinate ally. "2 things. 1, I'm sure you're the one that's holding me back because you probably have no idea where you're going. I want you gone as much you want to be gone. But we're stuck with each other until we get to that ballroom and 2, we should go my way. Right is always right, you know," Kai argued as he indifferently stared back into the glaring emerald eyes of Cordelia. "What makes you think I would follow a pervert like you? And FYI, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," the blonde female objected, repositioning her glasses to be more comfortable on her face, annoyance at his actions building inside her. "Oh, tell me we aren't doing this right now," Kai frustratedly replied, turning his head in the opposite direction of Cordelia. "Give me one good reason that I should do what you decide and I will," She stated, granting him time to contemplate an answer. Kai did indeed accept this time, struggling to conceive of a valid answer, even going as far as to open his mouth to voice his response only to close it shut again upon realizing that most of his claims would just be ignored anyway. "I thought as much." Cordelia retorted, the emerald-eyed female said as she swirled herself around and headed in the direction she had originally decided to go. "Come on. I don't have all day," she called back. Defeated, he mockingly answered "Yes, oh great princess" before following her around the corner.

"Which way Rosalie?" Sora questioned his partner. Rosalie placed a finger on her chin, attempting to provide some sort of understanding of where in the mansion they had wandered off to. The hallways were eerily silent, void of all noise with the obvious exception of their footsteps. Rosalie halted at the center of a corridor that divided into three hallways; one going straight, one going left, and one going right. She blocked the green-haired male's advance with her arm extended in front of him. The silence was soon interrupted from a low growl, the threatening noise increasing in volume indicating it was closing in on them. This ravenous snarl primarily came from the straight hallway, however, identical noises came from the left and right of them and finally from behind them. The owners of such a bellow was none other than relatively young, medium-sized tiger-like Zetans called Tora coming around the corner. Sora and Rosalie carefully eyed these creatures as they drew closer, stalking their cornered prey. "Think you can kill from a distance?" Rosalie asked Sora. A highly advanced state-of-the-art electric pistol materialized in her hand. She raised the stylish yet well-developed weapon in front of her and took aim at the Toras directly ahead of her. "You're kidding, right? You are the one who taught me how to," Sora answered. Chuckling as a grin formed across his lips, he raised his own hand wielding three small knives. "Then, let's get to it," She replied. The Tora charged towards the pair with speed like its original counterparts, zigzagging down the hall with its comrades mimicking its movements. Rosalie steadied her lock on the Tora, timing her shot and pulling the trigger, firing a bullet that accurately hit its target in the cranium. The Tora from the left seemed a bit quicker than the others, springing into the air slashing and swinging his claws at an unsuspecting Rosalie. Before the Tora could inflict any damage on her, however, she rotated their position, setting her partner up to launch his knives at the air-born enemy. Unable to dodge the unprecedented attack, the Tora was struck in the head, the stomach, and even pierced the armor located on the chest where the heart was, stabbing a clean attack through. Another rotation of the two resulted in Sora launching the knives he had between his fingers of his other hand at the Tora coming from them on the opposite side. This time, his daggers made full contact with the skull of the Tora on the right. The remaining Tora managed to have gotten the furthest of the four, reaching directly behind Rosalie. Without even turning, she caught the creature with the barrel of her gun shoved in its fanged mouth. Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled the trigger, releasing a burst of explosive energy that made the entire being vanish from sight. "Huh...I must have accidentally set it to Explosive," she shrugged; Her finger had accidentally hit the dial, switching the output type of the gun from Regular to Explosive. Her gun dematerialized from her hand while her golden hues analyzed the pathways. "This way," she directed her finger towards the right path and strolled onward. "Gotcha," Sora replied, following her lead. He had earlier attempted to suggest a pathway, but her sense of direction was ironically the strength that she possessed that ultimately made him decide to leave the directions to her.

An hour or so had gone by, although it didn't seem that way for Kai and Cordelia, who had made very little progress. Following the paths that Cordelia had chosen out for them, they wandered the halls aimless in search of the ballroom. "Why can't you just admit that you have no clue where we're going?" Kai finally spoke up. "Because I know exactly where we're going," Cordelia sternly answered as she repeatedly shifted between the decision of going left or right. "Oh, really? Because I know exactly where we are. Back at the beginning once again!" Kai was enjoying every moment of watching the know-it-all Cordelia squirm, but at this rate, they would never complete this task. "You don't have to impress me just because I saved your life, you know. It's alright." Cordelia's head quickly whirled around to face him, the teasing comment drawing her attention. "You are so full of it, you know that? It's just the knockout gas from earlier got my directions all messed up, that's all," She said justifyingly. "Right, that would explain why we somehow end up taking unanswerable left turns," Kai sarcastically replied, smugly shrugging his shoulders. Cordelia's tolerance of him was at its limit. She was too annoyed with his attitude to hold it back any longer. "I don't understand hwo canyone can tolerate someone as self-centered as you. You think you're so awesome, but in reality, you think only of yourself and your precious sweets. You ruined my trap on the first day we met and made me believe that you were actually worthy of bringing to this school. Your family must have had enough of you and sent you away." A silence swept over the halls, overwhelming the path in its deafening embrace. Slowly but definitely, the smirk descended from Kai's face. "My family? My family was murdered just a couple of years ago," he finally responded. His light, blonde hair fell over his face as he dropped his head, the painful memories running through his mind once again. Cordelia gasped only lightly in shock from his reply; she wished she could recant her outburst. Kai placed his free hand over his face before dropping into a seated position on the floor. "I-I apologize...I shouldn't have-" Cordelia had started to say, but she was cut off by Kai, who yanked her down with the handcuffs. As she repositioned herself in a proper sitting position, Kai continued his story. "My brother and sister, my only surviving family was murdered right before my very own eyes just a little over a year ago. The reason I am enrolling at this school, the reason I've decided to become a Golden Hawk member is nothing other than to gather information on their killer and eliminate them mentally, spiritually, and physical. Those bastards with crimson crosses on their backs will pay for what they've done." Kai's eyes were flooded with a threatening anger, a destructive wrath looming deep inside that would annihilate everything in its wake should it be unleashed. I've obviously said the wrong thing...he's pissed. What do I say that can fix this? Cordelia's mind scrambled to find the words to properly repair their already damaged relationship. "Well, that's my story. What's yours? Why are you here?" Kai's anger seemed to subside rather quickly; a good thing for Cordelia. "Why I'm here?" She repeated his question. "Yeah, and I want to know EVERYTHING." Kai assumed a more comfortable position, resting his back against the wall. "And you can start with your lie about being in the Golden Hawks," he added. "S-so you've figured that out, huh?" She twiddled her fingers in embarrassment as she replied with a nervous chuckle. "I assumed as much by the fact that if you are as strong as you say you are, which I've personally experienced on two occassions, you would have been able to eliminate the Zetan easily. You being involved with this Initiation confirmed it. However, something doesn't make sense to me. If you aren't enrolled at the school, why are you wearing the school uniform?" Cordelia breathed a heavy sigh before clearing her throat in preparation for her lengthy speech. "As you say, I am not actually a student at Arrow Light Academy. I come from the royal family of the 28th District, the Napolitano family. My grandfather is the King there and my father is the CEO of a major company that manufactures and produces the newest battle gear. I have, in fact, been trained to utilize a lot of different weapons and equipment. Although my combat skill increased rapidly, I had begunto grow tired of living off my father's money and my grandfather's powerful influence. I wanted to travel the world and fight new people, learn other styles of fighting. After my mother vanished, I received a letter from someone who claimed they had knowledge of her whereabouts. I was only a kid at the time, so I would do anything to see her again. I did exactly as the person who wrote that letter instructed me; I met with the person by myself only to find I had been lured into a trap by enemies of my father's company. They had planned on killing me in order to get at my father and I was helpless to defend myself against them after being attacked from behind. I laid beaten and battered on the ground, ready to give up on it all. That's when a warrior dressed in red and black with eyes of the darkest crimson and hair of the purest light rescued me from my attackers. I'll never forget the form and grace of his fighting style. It was then that I realized that I needed to become stronger. Last year, I had taken the Initiation for Arrow Light Academy and was accepted. However, I soon found out that I had actually failed the Initiation and my father had paid the instructor to accept me. I didn't want to get accepted like that, so I went to Headmaster Kitamura about the matter and he allowed me to remain at the academy as his assistant until I could pass the Initiation and become a student. Because I already had the uniform, I was allowed to keep it while I stayed in the dorms."

A combination of a smile and the usual tauntingly serene expression had made itself known on Kai's face while he gazed into her eyes. In a matter of moments, however, it transformed into that of annoyance. "You didn't have to make your story so long," he finally spoke. His words shattered the seriousness of the conversation between himself and Cordelia with a bit of comedic relief. "But..." he continued, extending his hand out in front of him to silence Cordelia, who had prepared to voice her dissatisfaction with his reaction to her past. "It was worth listening to. Hearing your story makes me think that maybe you're not such a violent, stuck-up little princess after all." The cool, emerald eyes of the female narrowed in distaste at his comment, but at the same time, it seemed she was uncertain whether to be angry or happy. "You can either compliment someone or pick a fight. You can't do both," She responded in a blunt voice. Kai returned to vertical base, stretching his muscles a bit and restoring vitality to his slumbering feet. He then extended his hand out towards her, offering assistance in standing up. "In exchange for you telling me all this, I'll make you a promise. I will help you become stronger. And the first step will be getting you into that academy. Just leave it to me." A flashy smile, white as snow, was presented to Cordelia, the authenticity nearly blinding her with its untold passion and determination. Words had begun to fail the female, which was a first. She grasped ahold of Kai's hand and rose to her feet with his assistance. "We'll take turns deciding which way we should go," Kai suggested, referring to the failure of the previous strategy. Cordelia nodded her head in approval before following behind him. He would choose the next path now and she would choose the following path, alternating as planned.

Their cooperation with each other had at long last gotten them on the right page. After an hour or so going by, they still seemed unable to get much further than they had before. A realization suddenly formed inside Kai's head. He held out his arm in front of Cordelia, halting the advance of his partner. "What's the matter?" She questioned. "Something is definitely not right here...We've been walking for what appears to be hours and yet we've ended up in at the beginning every single time," Kai thoughtfully answered. "Now that you mention it, it does feel kind of off. But I'm sure we just aren't searching hard enough," Cordelia optimistically spoke. "Maybe, but haven't you noticed we haven't seen a single pair the entire time?" Kai reminded her firmly. It was true. The halls were absent of any enrollees or people. "Hmm...yes, I agree. There is something really strange going on with this place," She reluctantly admitted his claims could actually have grounds. Could there have been a secret passage they were supposed to have found? She analyzed the walls of the corridors and checked the doors that were unlocked. However, her search was for naught. A sigh escaped Kai's lips after he stretched his arms out and exhaled a yawn. He then reached into his pocket for a piece of candy. This walking around had become just another pain that set his mood out of whack. For a few moments, his hand dug around for a single piece only to find that his on-hand candy supply had been fully depleted. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any candy on you, would you?" He asked Cordelia, who had just completed her senseless search. "This is hardly the time to ask such a question. But to answer it, no, I do not," She replied as calmly as she could. "Damn...Well, I can say that whoever is in charge of this thing will be held accountable for anything in here I destroy just out of irritation," Kai leaned against the shelf in a more relaxed position. When he moved his arm to provide a more comfortable support, his arm accidentally knocked over a vase with roses circling the waist. "Oh, now look what you did," Cordelia pointed toward the shattered pieces of the artifact. She appreciated the value of such objects that could be worth plenty of money. "It's just a stupid vase. Get over it," Kai's tone had changed to an annoyed frustration. The lack of candy seemed to quickly affect his mood.

While the two began to discuss the matters that they had been faced, the team of Sora and Rosalie had just arrived back at the beginning as well. "I can't believe that it was locked. How are we supposed to pass the Initiation if we can't get into the ballroom?" Rosalie crossed her arms in front of her. They had found the entrance to the ballroom, but the doors wouldn't open. "Hm?" A confused Sora knelt down on the floor in front of the shelf in the main hallway. "Something wrong?" Rosalie questioned, leaning over his shoulder to observe what he was doing. "Was there always a broken vase here?" Sora asked before moving aside out of her view of the vase that had been shattered to pieces. "Nah, I don't think so. I would think someone came through this way if we had actually seen anyone on our way around the mansion. Think you can fix it?" She shrugged. "It'll be a cinch," Sora replied. A book materialized in his hand and opened up. The pages turned rapidly until it finally stopped on a random page. "That which can be broken can also be repaired," he recited the incantation from the page and pointed his finger at the case. The pieces of the vases that lay about the floor suddenly began to come together, restoring the object to its original state and returning to the shelf. "Also, it does seem strange that we keep winding up in the same place, isn't it?" Rosalie added as she assisted Sora in standing up again. "I think it would be best to take a breather while we think up a strategy," Sora recommended. The two leaned their backs against the wall while exchanging ideas.

"I knew it," Kai had witnessed the reparation of the vase from the end of the hallway, peaking around the corner. However, there appeared to be no beings presently in sight in the hallway other than himself and Cordelia, who also watched the events that transpired. "I can definitely feel their energy...but they aren't visible," Cordelia said, a baffled look upon her face. "Just what the hell is up with this place anyway?" "I think I have an idea," Kai led Cordelia a few feet towards the energy presence they had felt and extended his palm out towards it. He concentrated a certain amount of energy to his hand in order to create a detectable energy-based light that surrounded his hand. In that instant, both Sora and Rosalie's attention was directed towards him and the presence of his energy, only to find that no one was standing where his energy was. "You feel that?" Rosalie asked, looking towards Sora out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah. It feels familiar...it feels like Kai's energy," Sora replied, searching the hall for the blonde male that had befriended them. However, just as Kai and Cordelia could not see him, the same applied from their point of view. Cautious of the presence before them that they could not see, possibly an enemy in camouflage, Sora and Rosalie materialized their weapons, which revealed their own energies. "Ah, so it is them. I thought as much. It's Sora and Rosalie," Kai explained to his partner. An idea suddenly formed inside Cordelia's mind. Without consideration of how he would react, she snatched his Shadow Slayer from its sheath and shoved it into the ground. With the blade, she carved out a note in the floor. "Uh princess? Just what in the blue hell do you think you're doing with my sword?" Kai angrily demanded while concealing his anger with a smirk. When she finished, she tossed the sword back towards him, which he caught by the handle. The message she had written read: _This is Cordelia and Kai. Sora and Rosalie, you guys are there, right?_ Kai sheathed his sword as he read the message carved in the floor. "If they can't see us, I'll doubt they'll be able to see this message," he commented. "Well, think about it this way. If they saw the shattered case on the floor, then maybe they will be able to see any physical changes to the environment," Cordelia explained to him her reasoning. "Hmmm...that could very well be true," Kai admitted. It was possible that changes in the environment when altered could have an effect on the place. Her suspicions had been confirmed; a reply from Sora as Rosalie appeared on the floor beneath hers. _Yeah, we're here. But where are you guys?_ Realizing that taking Kai's sword again would cause problems, Cordelia unsheathed her own sword and carved her reply in the floor. _I assume that this place has some sort of magic spell placed over it that is preventing us from physically see people who aren't our partners and moving forward._ Rosalie responded to this message with one of her own knives. _I've kept track of the paths we have take. One of the paths we have taken leads to a room with large doors at the entrance, but the doors were locked. There is no doubt that is the ballroom. We searched for a key or something, but we didn't find anything_. A few moments of thought provided Kai with the answer to the problem they faced. "It must be a riddle." He stated, materializing a shadow from his sleeve. He manipulated the shadow to slash the ground, writing out his reply. _Tell us the path that you took. After you finish, go straight to those doors. We'll be their shortly._ Cordelia watched him as he did so before presenting him with another confused expression. "I don't think you read it carefully enough. The doors were locked. What good would knowing the path do?" She questioned. Rosalie's instructive reply appeared on the ground. Kai took his cellphone out of his pocket and snapped a picture of the directions before breaking into a run. "You'll find out when we get there," he told her. They followed Rosalie's exact directions until they found themselves face-to-face with the large doors that she had mentioned. "So what do you suppose we do now? Cordelia demanded as she struggled to recapture her breath, eagerly awaiting to hear the plan he had. Kai slashed another pair of instructions in the ground for when Sora and Rosalie got there. _Both of you take the handle and pull on it. We'll do the same._ Cordelia grabbed ahold of Kai's shoulder and shook him violently. "Hey, hey. You said you would explain, so tell me already." Kai gave her a gentle smirk before placing his hand over hers and guiding it to the doorknob. "Fine, Princess Impatience. Since you've been so kind as to make it here without complaining once, I'll fill you in." He blatantly teased her while placing his own hand on the handle of the door. "For your sake, this better be a damn good explanation." Cordelia's voice changed from one of calmness to a threatening tone. "Remember what Yuuichi said in the in that video on the monitor outside the room we woke up in? /Work with your partners./ The /partners/ he was referring to were the people who shared our handcuffs, not the people we were cuffed to. In other words, we have to work with our teammates Sora and Rosalie to pass this initiation. The doors won't open if we don't open them as a team." As one, the four of them pulled on the handle in unison. Just as Kai had said, the doors to the ballroom slowly opened. Inside was a conference-like table that stretched took up most of the center of the room. On the table was a red and black card, most likely the one they had been instructed to retrieve. The floor was carpeted with a Golden Hawk design that spread out to the edges of the table. As they entered the room, Sora and Rosalie appeared next to Cordelia Kai, the four of them approaching the table that held their card. Cordelia snatched the card from the table before Kai could grab it, obviously in a hurry to be released from her restraints, and slid the card into the slot. The handcuffs clicked before falling off her and Kai's wrists. "Thank goodness it's all over. I thought I was going to lose it if I had to be stuck with the biggest pervert in the Shadow Realm," the blonde female remarked as she heaved a sigh of relief. The sapphire eyes of Kai narrowed at her comment, a look of annoyance. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if karma gets you in the worst way possible," he said, discarding the cuffs into the pocket of his cloak. "I wouldn't mind staying like this for a while," Rosalie casually pulled Sora close to her with a satisfied grin. Sora, who clearly got along with Rosalie better than everyone else, found himself discomforted by her words and quickly took the key card and unlocked the restraints. "I think we should head back now," Cordelia suggested. The others nodded their heads in agreement and headed out the doors.


	14. Chapter 7-3 Initiation

7-3 The Phantom Known as Kai Shihatori Chapter 7: Initiation Part 3

As they exited the ballroom, a strong bloodlust erupted from both ends of the halls, the desire to kill emanating as a combined force. The hungering growls of Zetans could be heard in numbers that seemed to increase at an alarming rate. The creatures rounded the corners, reading their threatening glares towards the group that stood between them. A sight like no other, the predators lined the halls, an army blocking the paths of escape as it stalked it's prey. Kai, Cordelia, Sora and Rosalie were surrounded with the knowledge that combat would be inevitable, but against these numbers, it would be suicide. "So many..." Sora was overwhelmed by the unbelievable numbers advantage the Zetans possessed. "They've assembled...but why?" Rosalie questioned, her voices revealing traces of her surprise her cool expression had attempted to camouflage. "We're close to the end of the Initiation...They're testing us to see if we can make it out alive now that we aren't cuffed," Cordelia suggested, a more reserved reaction to their unwanted company than her younger companions. She turned her attention to Kai, who appeared to have been analyzing the situation rather than worrying. "What should we do? We may be strong, but the odds we'll come out alive are incredibly low. Do we attempt to charge them?" She asked. It would seem that he had a plan in mind and she was curious as to what it was. For a few moments, Kai spoke not a single word. "I've always done what I wanted up to now. And fighting a battle where I have a disadvantage, well, that's something I'm used to and have taken a liking to," Kai eventually broke his silence, turning to face Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie. "But getting you guys to safety is my first priority. You all have a reason for being here today and I'm going to help you along the way. We're going to fight and we're going to survive. Show me your power and fight alongside me." Kai then turned back to face the enemy at hand, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he removed his Shadow Slayer from its sheath strapped to his back, nimbly twirling it as he brought it to his side. "Of course, I don't really care either way if you do or don't. I'll level you behind if you can't keep up," he added, the teasing side of him returning for a brief moment. His taunting seemed to have an effect on his allies, igniting the fire in their hearts. When he looked back at them as he spoke, Cordelia had unsheathed her sword, Sora's knives were prepared between his fingers and Rosalie's pistol was locked and loaded with ammunition. Kai could feel their determination, the fight in their spirits that burned brighter than the flames of the sun itself. He fought to resist the urge to laugh aloud and express how the heat of their flames brought back a few memories of the Shadow Riders, a group founded and led by him when his family was still alive. "I thought so. Well then, let's get this party started."

The Zetans charged forward, a small minority of whom leapt into the air, swiping and slashing their claws at the group. The two armies converged on the ensnared enrollees, leading them to divide to take them on. Kai and Sora took the Zetans to the west of the ballroom while Cordelia and Rosalie pushed through the ones to the east. Kai briskly infiltrated the front lines, seeking to eliminate any and all Zetans that went for him rather than Sora with swift slashes and ferocious shadow-manipulated attacks. His offensive assault on the enemy was supported by the long-distance attacks from Sora, who launched his knives at the Zetans moving through the air, whether they were in flight like the owl-like Zetans or simply attacking from above like the Okami were. In his hand, his tome materialized, the pages of the book rapidly flipping until halting on a page. He recited the incantation written on the page, conjuring and launching large fireballs at the Zetans that resided in the rear and mid-rear area of the force. Meanwhile, Cordelia led her advancement on the enemy forces with a combination of strikes with her blade and series of effective kicks and punches. Occasionally the attacks of the Zetans on her were successful, inflicting damage little by little. She responded to those attacks with elementally-enhanced strikes that would at times either scorch the Zetans unfortunate enough to feel her wrath or freeze them to make them easier to kill. Rosalie, on the other hand, charges through the lines of Zetans, firing destructive bursts of energy at her foes from a medium distance. A little far in the enemy forces, she dematerialized her guns replacing them with a spear, fending off the Zetans that managed to get within striking range of her. She variated between simply knocking them out and piercing through the armor and flesh inflicting fatal wounds. What the four warriors lacked in numbers they made up with great combat ability. Kai glanced back at his allies, perceiving the progress they had made. However, he realized that a Zetan was prepared to fire its acid at Cordelia. Kai kicked a Zetan out of the way before materializing a shadow that stuck to the wall. He jumped onto the shadow and ran along the wall with a boost in speed rushing towards his partner while also taking out any foes that dared to halt his advances. The Zetan fired a great amount of acid in the direction of the unsuspecting female blonde. With a slight chance to make it to her in time, Kai leapt from the wall and launched himself towards her. "Heads up, princess!" He called out to her. She turned her head just in time to be hit by Kai's foot, sending her flying to the ground a few feet away. "Oooh, she's not going to be happy about that when she gets back up," Kai cringed at the consequences that could await him later on. However, the beating was the last of his problems at the moment; because he was airbourne, he would be unable to dodge the acid. He attempted to call forth another shadow to use as a shield, but nothing happened. "What the-?" Kai flicked his wrist a couple of times and even snapped his fingers, yet his shadows wouldn't come forth. "This can't be good.." He said under his breath. Frustrated, he swung his Shadow Slayer downward into the acid, causing it to part. He chuckled a bit, relishing in his accomplishment. However, his celebration was premature. The acid had decomposed most of the blade and the separated acid made contact with his left hand and slightly caught him on his right ankle. A little preoccupied dealing with the pain, Kai was forced to bounce and roll across the floor until he finally landed next to Cordelia, who remained unconscious. He gripped his left hand with his right, the stinging agony causing him to seethe. Sora and Rosalie backed up to regroup with their teammates. "This is so not good..." Sora said, looking around them at the many remaining Zetan. "Stupid crappy sword.." Kai angrily tossed the melted sword at the Zetans, discarding the object as useless trash. The enemy was closing in for the kill, prepared to feast on the flesh of the enrollees. It seemed certain that they would not win this battle.

The air surrounding the hallway where the battle was taking place suddenly became warm. Following the change in temperature was a surge of red electricity that fired past the western army of Zetan before halting in front of the group. My the three of them each gasped as the appearance of a person could be made out. The person before them was a female who appeared identical to Kai, only with a more feminine face. Even the uniform was similar to the one that Kai had worn: a red and black samurai robe with an additional feature of a gold Phoenix on the front that was visible through the cloak she wore over it. The female also wore boots that were built to look like sneakers. "Who or _what_ are you?" Kai demanded, pointing his finger at her while waving it about. "You look exactly like me, but you're not me, because I am me!" His statements were ignored by the female almost as if she hadn't known he was there. A burst of lightning came from her open hand and a sword would materialize from the energy. Electricity flowed in a current around her body as she vanished from sight. The sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed all throughout the hall frequently, but it wasn't just ricocheting all over the place. It was more like she was slashing through the Zetan with the slightest of ease. She eventually returned to the spot she had been standing before, the Zetan standing in silence. After a few seconds, with the snap of the female's fingers, the bodies of the Zetan slid in halves and quarters before disappearing into the wind. She reached into her cloak pocket and removed a lollipop from it, unwrapping it and placing it in her mouth. "Hey, are you gonna answer me or what?" Kai staggered to his feet before sliding to the wall for support. Cordelia slowly opened her eyes, and having recovered from Kai's rescue attempt, sat herself up and placed her hand over her cheek where the attack had hit. She quickly found herself looking between the two identical blondes that stood a few feet apart. "What the-? Two of them?" She said softly. "Hey, you alright?" Rosalie asked, kneeling beside her. She moved her hand from her cheek and noticed a red mark that resembled a foot. Kai slowly dragged himself towards the female who had just rescued them."I don't think you should be moving around much. You're pretty badly injured, Kai Shihatori of the 16th District's Royal Family and the last Korenji," The girl finally spoke. Her words not only halted his movements, but also caused the eyes of the 4 enrollees to widen in shock; none moreso than Kai. "Did she say...Korenji?" Sora questioned, turning his attention to the shaking eyes of the blonde male. Upon hearing what she had said, Cordelia recalled the chat between her and Kai earlier about his reason for enrolling at the school. _My brother and sister, my only surviving family was murdered right before my very own eyes just a little over a year ago._ His words played through her head before she also remembered that the council held a meeting just a couple of months ago before the New Year started regarding the appointing of the next royal family of the 16th District. _Could he be...?_ "How do you know about that?" Kai's tone was a bit more serious now than earlier. "Isn't it obvious?" The girl giggled as she approached the injured warrior, the lollipop hanging out of the corner of her mouth. She halted a few feet in front of him and extended her hand out to him. Out of her hand emerged a few shadows that moved whenever and however she wanted them to. "I'm...you." She gave him a smile mockingly, a hint of teasing detected in her voice. "Don't play stupid with me!" Kai angrily yelled as he unsheathed his newer sword that he himself had created and swung it at the girl. The girl didn't bother to attempt to dodge the attack; instead, she halted the blade with just a single finger. "Sh-she caught it!" A shocked Sora said as he, Cordelia, and Rosalie watched on. A frustrated Kai hopped away from the wall on one foot as he delivered a fury of slashes and strikes. The girl made easy work of dodge the one-foot attempted attacks of her opponent, seeming to be enjoying watching him try to fight back. She took her time as she waited for him to tire out before delivering a swift kick to the stinging leg where the acid had hit him. "Gahhh!" Kai almost immediately fell to the ground rolling around while grabbing his right ankle as his screams of pain ran through the hall. "My, you're so weak when you're upset. This is too easy for my liking," the female claiming to be him said before driving her foot into his injured foot, causing a scream to exit his lungs again. Cordelia attempted to run at the girl, to stop the painful to watch show, but quickly fell backwards, still dizzy from the kick. The teen eventually released Kai from the crushing strike and bent over, towards him. "But that's the truth. I'm you. Except everyone calls me Lady Kai." She spoke to him, picking him up by his collar. "I'm actually disappointed. And here I came to have fun with you. But you couldn't even beat those creatures. Just how weak could you possibly be?" Kai's sapphire eyes stared intently into the clear, icy eyes of Lady Kai, eyes that dared him to make his move. "I-if you're me...then..you can't kill me, right?" Kai asked her as he gathered however much breath as he could. "Unfortunately, that's right. But I would just love to do away with a disgrace like you," She replied. Kai began to chuckle after hearing that. He gathered together a bit of saliva in his mouth and spat it from his mouth straight into Lady Kai's face. "Disgrace that, bitch." He added with a sinister look on his face. His allies looked on with the same thought in their minds: "He's so going to die." As much as they wanted to help, they knew from the very beginning they didn't stand a chance. The female Kai slowly brought her hand up to her cheek and brushed the saliva from it, then shaking it from her fingers. "Adorable." That was all she said before tightly grabbing onto his injured left arm and twisting it behind his back. The screams of torment resumed once again until finally she threw him over to his friends. "Since I can't kill you, I'll just be on my way. We will see more of each other, lonely orphan." Lady Kai spoke before walking off down the hall and disappearing around the corner. "Well, you've made one enemy here and how long have we been enrolled? Oh wait, we haven't even been enrolled yet." Cordelia joked with Kai, a little teasing for earlier. "Where were you guys when I was getting my ass kicked?" Kai yelled after sitting himself up, with little difficulty but not without any. "Yeah, that girl was NOT the type of person I would tangle with." Sora answered placing her hands in the air in a "Don't hurt me" gesture. "I was tending to Cordelia's injury." Rosalie replied. It was then that Kai realized that Cordelia was missing. "And just where did she run off to?" Following that question, Cordelia dropped him with a vicious spin kick to the side of the head, knocking him into the wall. "And that's for kicking me in the face." She spoke sourly, his body falling to the floor with a thud. Sora rushed over to Kai and helped him up after hoisting the blonde's arm over his shoulder. "We should probably get out of here before more Zetans come.."Sora suggested, walking off with the injured Kai. Rosalie went to the other side of Kai and placed his free arm over her shoulder. Cordelia remained behind, her emerald hues fixed on Kai's back. _His power is amazing, that much I am sure of. But he couldn't possibly have beaten that female version of himself in his condition. Why did he attack, or more importantly, why didn't he just try to talk it out?_ She thought to herself. Suddenly the words of Kai began singing their song in her mind. _And how could he just say that stuff so casually?_ Her thoughts were derailed by the sound of his voice calling out to her. "Quit spacing out, princess. You won't be able to pass if you don't make it out of here, you know." Cordelia grabbed ahold of herself and velociously hustled after the rest of her friends. _He really is annoying..._ She said to herself in the depths of her endless ocean of thoughts. They walked for a few minutes before locating the front doors that led to the outside.

Outside the expansive mansion, the plane the enrollees had all boarded prior to the initiation was parked near the fountain located in the heart of the yard. It became evident from the sounds coming from the inside, the voices of many different teams overlapping one another, that Kai, Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie were most certainly not the first team to complete the challenge. As they boarded the aircraft, Kai on his own power now, the noises of footsteps racing against the solid concrete walkway followed behind them, along with a scream that made them turn. The scream had belonged to an enrollee, an average male teen, who appeared to be fleeing the mansion in fear. On his tail was a Tora, one about a few times larger than the ones that they had encountered in the mansion making it an Elder, with a distance of about 5 feet between him and the Zetan. As the male enrollee ran for his life, he panickingly tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. He rolled himself over, turning around just in time to see his pursuer spring into the air for a pounce. Kai placed his hand on the handle of the high-tech sword he had put in his sheathe as a replacement for his Shadow Slayer, intent on rescuing the enrollee despite the fact that he was still rather injured. However, before he could even set out, a blurred image of a person sped past him like a speeding bullet heading in the direction of the Zetan. The person appeared in front of the Tora and defended the enrollee from the attacking elder of the Zetans, knocking it back with a spear-like weapon. The individual was a man of average height with short, blue hair who looked to be in his late teens or early thirties. He wore a navy blue vest over a white dress shirt and long black pants with a streak of gold present, although its visibility only lined the sides of his legs from the waist down to his brown boots. The ends of a dark shade of black scarf around his neck stretched outward, dancing with the wind as its partner. Behind his spectacles were dark red eyes, the stare of which gave off a violent aura. His focus was solely directed towards the Tora, the grin of an excited child painted along his curved mouth. "Now, now, what do you think you're doing?" The male spoke in a childish voice to the Tora. However, he didn't appear to be taunting him, at least not on purpose. "Attacking the possible next generation of Arrow Light Academy? Looks like I'll have to punish you." The enrollee behind him fled to the safety of the aircraft, leaving his rescuer to deal with his assailant. The blue-haired male hoisted the spear above his head with little to no difficulty before vanishing from the view of the Zetan, to the surprise of many of the enrollees. The man reappeared in front of the Zetan and delivered a dynamic swing to the side of its face. The attack of the male was responded to with a swift slash from the Tora. Before it could make contact, however, the male once again disappeared. Another strike with the spear on the Tora from the side invoked yet another retaliation. This movement the male displayed began slowly, but quickly became more rapid and frequent, successfully landing blows on the Elder Tora from different angles. As if my pure instinct, the frustrated Tora slash of the Zetan's murderous claws knocked the male backwards into the air. The enrollees gasped as the slash had left a cut mark on the cheek of the male, leaving a reminder in the form of the scar. The male recovered his coordination as displayed an unorthodox level of acrobatic athletic ability, rotating himself as he back flipped through the air in a corkscrew and landed on the rim of the fountain. The male placed his left hand on his cheek, tracing his fingers along the sound that had been inflicted on him, courtesy of the Tora. The sting of the cut caused the male's face to wince, forcing him to quickly retract his hand. "Well, that's not nice," He said, underneath his breath. Three small streams of the crimson liquid dripped from his cheek and either plummeted to the ground or splashed in the fountain. The male pushed his glasses up his face so they were properly positioned. The smirk he had dropped from his mouth, a more serious expression quickly replacing it, his eyes also reflecting the change in his attitude. Kai knew it, Cordelia knew it, even the Tora knew it, but the enrollees had yet to notice it: the guy was frustrated and about to dig his own grave. A loud, ear-splitting howl came from the Tora, the sound creating visible sound waves that blew everything in the area in its path away. It uprooted trees from the ground, created numerous cracks in the ground and even destroyed the gates that lined the edge of the mansion's yard. "What is it doing?" Sora called out, he and the many other enrollees pressing their hands against their ears. His question was answered with the arrival of three additional Tora, equal in massive size charging from the mansion and joining its ally. "Well, that's new.." Kai said. He, besides Cordelia and the male on the fountain, was the only one with his ears unprotected and seemed unaffected by the power of the noise. A Zetan had never possessed the ability to draw their comrades to them. Something wasn't right with these Zetan. Kai reached into his cloak and removed his CAM. The CAM, otherwise known as the Creature Analysis Mechanism was a computer-like device connected to the Council of the Shadow Realm's database, but more focused on the files of every living organism in the Shadow Realm, and regularly updated information in every file as new data was stored. Although relatively the size of a tablet, the analysis radar built into the back of the device could reach about the length of 3 football fields. The only possible downfall the machine had was the lengthy period of time it took for analysis of a creature to be completed and for results to be obtained. A transmission wave directed towards the Tora passed by the creatures from the device before bouncing back to the device. Kai then returned to the machine. Kai then returned it to his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, patiently awaiting the results. "You can call your bodies if you want, I'm going to have to remove each of you from this world sooner later..." The male below stated, vanishing like he had done earlier. The Tora he was targeting, however, read his movement and dodged the weapon moments before it made contact, almost immediately followed by an attack from one of the other Tora that sent the male skidding back. "It dodged?" He asked himself, the surprise of the attack was obvious. He attempted the same strategy with one of the other Tora, but it resulted in a Tora rotating like a spiraling tornado into him, launching him through the foundation of the fountain. _He's not thinking...he assumes that since they can't see him as he moves, they can't predict where he's going to hit next or even that they are using teamwork._ Kai thought to himself, brushing his bangs out of his face. As the male emerged from the fountain, numerous scratches were visible over his body. The spiraling attack that had sent him flying wasn't a single strike, but a flurry of strikes in a rotating cycle movement. A group assault had begun on the blue-haired male. The 3 elder Tora took turns striking the male with the spiraling attacks, keeping him locked in on all sides while evading his attempts to fight them off. Although he was still standing, it was only a matter of time before the spear-wielding teen would collapse. _So this is what the power and intelligence of an elder Tora looks like in battle...It's almost exciting..._ In the midst of his own thoughts, something about the Zetan caught Kai's eye. Kai activated the camera on his phone and steadied it on the Tora that didn't seem to be taking part in the mauling of the teen. He snapped a shot of the armor of the Zetan which seemed to glow with every few seconds. He examined the photo, more specifically a red design on the armor. It was too blurry to actually make out, but fortunately his phone had a feature that could fix that. He clicked the "Focus" edit effect, making the photo appear more clearly. He continued pressing the effect until he was able to confirm the image. "Hm? The sky...it was just sunny a few seconds ago.." Sora said, his eyes looking up to the sky. Dark clouds loomed over the sky, blocking out the light of the sun as they came together. Hatred and destructive anger overcame Kai, causing his mouth to seethe and his body to shake as his eyes glared at his discovery. Cordelia had taken notice of the trembling of her partner and reached out to his shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, a feeling of foreboding running through her chest. Something bad was about to happen, she could feel it. She was unable to see what he had seen: the Crimson Cross that marked the armor of the Zetans. Before she could touch him, Kai suddenly bolted past her, nearly knocking her over as he sped down the stairs. "Kai! You shouldn't be running into battle with those injuries!" Rosalie called out to him from the bottom of the stairway. However, his injuries did not matter to him. This was a sign, a sign that the battle with his enemies was drawing near. He raced towards the battlefield, his eyes shining a burning crimson as the memory of his siblings being murdered at the hands of the Crimson Cross played through his head. This time, however, it was accompanied by the screams of his family from the first Korenji massacre, an additional scene of the Crimson Cross's involvement in orchestrating the murder of his clan. The attention of the Tora were directed from the blue-haired male, who was barely standing but was able to walk on his own power, to the blonde-haired male who had joined the battle. One of the Tora attempted to attack him with an intense slash. Kai disappeared in a surge of lightning, the Zetan looking around for him as were the enrollees. From the sky, Kai crashed into the ground where the Zetans were positioned, the impact of which not only created a massive crater, but also a smoke cloud with blazing lightning surging through the smoke. The enrollees strained their eyes in an attempt to see what was happening. The smoke begun to clear, the threatening glow of a figure with crimson hues rising to his feet; It was Kai. His sword disappeared from his hands in burning black flames. Kai was surrounded by a dark aura, an energy that poured out of him and manifested his overwhelming desire to kill. This energy danced violently around him, threatening to destroy anything that came too close. The enrollees quickly took their phones out to record the phenomenal display of power. The presence of fear had been burned into the very beings of the Tora. The 4 Zetans released a combined roar as the one had before, doing the waves towards the blonde warrior. "Kai! You have to get out of there!" Cordelia's voice rang from the sidelines. There was a possibility that the combined roar would deafen him or worse if he took the attack directly. However, he didn't even move out of harm's way nor did the attack seem to affect him. The sounds of numerous roses came from different directions of the mansion's yard. Responding to the call of Tora, the courtyard was quickly overrun with a monstrous army of young Okami and Tora Zetans. "Oh...my...god.." Rosalie, much like the others, could not believe her eyes. The walls of the courtyard had fallen over and the mansion had been decimated by the invading force; all just to surround Kai. As the Zetans charged towards Kai, it was obvious that escape would have been inevitable. "KAIII!" Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie called out to him as their view of him was blocked by the number of Zetans piling him.

A powerful burst of energy, similar to that of a bomb going off, sent the surrounding Zetans flying as it rocketed a bean of crimson and black energy towards the heavens. In the center stood Kai, who now had eyes of the coldest ice. He vanished from sight, his movements almost, if not completely impossible to follow or track, as he moved through the ranks of the Zetan army. When he reappeared in the location he had been standing before, most of the Zetans had erupted with crimson electricity. The remaining Zetan numbered about 400, plus the 4 elder Tora. One by one, the Zetan charged at him from the front, keeping him surrounded. Kai raised his leg off the ground, delivered a swift kick to the first Zetan and followed with a double-handed swing to the same Zetan. He elbowed a Zetan that had attempted to jump him from behind. A flurry of lightning-quick punches and kicks were dealt to the many Zetans that came at him at once, accompanied with a burst of lightning packed with each attack. He materialized the same sword from earlier and twirled it about in a similar fashion to the way staffs were wielded in battle, slicing through the creatures with ease. The sword transformed just as it had done during the Initiation, taking the form of a long, spear-like weapon with a blade at both ends of it. He nimbly leapt into the air rotating his body as he swung his weapon about. Upon landing on the ground, he charged it with electricity before launching it like a frisbee, piercing the armor of each of the Zetans in a circular path. While his weapon took out the Zetan in its orbit, he delivered a variety of rotating kicks and punches to the Zetans who were able to evade the weapon as well as any who came close to him. When it came back around, he back flipped into the air, catching it just in time to thrust if deep within the chest of the Zetan. The battle waged on for approximately 10-15 minutes longer before the remaining combatants were Kai and the 4 Tora. The enrollees had bursted into an uproar of cheers for Kai. However, those screams of praise were silenced by the preparations of another howl from the Tora. "Oh no, not again..." Cordelia couldn't stand idly by and watch her partner face the same fate as the blue-haired male from earlier. She was about to unsheath her sword and join him in the battle when she felt two different hands on her shoulders. She looked back and saw Sora and Rosalie, their hands resting on her shoulder to stop her. "He's going to be fine.." Rosalie said, her gaze not averting from the fight for a single moment. "But there's no way he can fight another round of those Zetans. We have to help him!" Cordelia argued. "Look closer." Sora pointed towards Kai. It was a bit difficult to see, but it would appear that he was enjoying the fight, smiling from ear to ear, cheek to cheek. "Just as the Tora was about to release their deafening howl, like a snake striking its prey, 4 shadows sprang out at them seemingly out of nowhere, slicing through the armor around the neck of the Zetans before violently wrapping around them. Across the battlefield, Kai had his hand helps out towards them, the streams of the shadows originated from his fingertips. "You'll never learn..." He spoke for the first time since joining the battle. His voice was cold, merciless and above all else, murderous. A great sure of scarlet electricity streamed through the shadows, electrocuting all four Zetans. The Tora screamed out in agony as the shockwaves passed throughout their bodies, struggling to break free of his grasp by running in different directions in vain. The force of the electricity caused the ground beneath them to crumble, slowly sinking them into a new crater. More shadows just teeming with electricity pierced through the bodies of the elder Tora, increasing the power output tenfold. It was then that Cordelia realized it. Kai wasn't just trying to defeat the Tora; he was torturing them before killing them. She had to stop him. However, before she could do so, she noticed that cherry blossoms began falling from the sky. A figured moving at a speed that just didn't seem possible to even detect more than a 7% of its presence swept through the battlefield, slicing clean through he Tora, causing them to disappear in the wind. After they disappeared, Kai felt an ominously nostalgic feeling over his body before a swift chop was delivered to the back of his neck. The image of the person was too sudden for him to notice as his body began to fall. Cordelia raced off towards Kai, the blonde female catching the male before he could touch the ground. The crowd, although confused as to what had transpired at the end of the battle, once again broke out into a field of cheers, chanting the name of the warrior who had defeated the Zetans as they celebrated the end of the momentous battle.


	15. Chapter 8-1 Memories and Identity

8-1 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori Chapter 8: Memories and Identity Part 1

In his mind, a memory played through Kai's head of yet another moment in his past. However, this one seemed more peaceful than the previous memories. Surrounding him was the streets of Noshashida, his home and the city his family ruled over teeming with the residents and travelers. However, he quickly took notice of four people walking the streets of Noshashida. The first was a male he had easily identified as himself only younger. The other two were his older siblings Kaito and Sika, slightly younger as well. The last one, however, he didn't recognize in the slightest. His hair was the color of a raven's, pure black and appeared silky. He was wearing the uniform that he and a majority of his family wore: A gold and blue kimono meant for easy movement in combat and a colorful royal style of fashion outside of it. Encrusted on the back of the kimono was a blazing Phoenix, rising from the flames of its ashes. Who was this male? A distant relative, perhaps? None the less, the feeling of nostalgia was not lost on Kai when he saw the male's face. "The people here are rather cheerful, aren't they?" Younger Kaito happily commented in the morality of the people of Noshashida. The streets were lined with vendors and stands while the stores were decorated with designs such as two blades clashing, an advertisement promoting some event. That's right. It was all coming back to Kai. At the time, Noshashida was hosting the Shadow Realm's annual combat tournament and he and his siblings had been asked to patrol the city and make sure everything was going smoothly. This tournament brought in warriors from all over the Realm to prove their might and valor for the right to be crowned the strongest in the Shadow Realm. "I honestly don't see how this tournament being held here is such a big deal," Sika said as they continued their maintenance. Judging by the path they walked, they were almost done with their route. "Well, I guess it's because this will mark the first tournament the Shadow Realm has had involving the children of the main family of the Realm, the Korenji, ever took part in." Younger Kai happily spun around, a lollipop hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "You guys have fun with that," Sika replied. She had a great deal of combat skill herself. However, she refused to show off her talent for the entertainment of others. "Don't worry. I've taken the liberty of signing you up for you, Sika." Kaito grinned from ear to ear. As if foreseeing her fist flying towards him, he sidestepped it, playfully evading her strikes as they walked. "Once again, you do something without my permission. How do you know I even wanted to participate?" Sika angrily demanded. "How?" Kaito repeated her question, a theatric spotlight shining on him and cherry blossoms slowly fell in the background as his eyes began to sparkle. He brushed his golden bangs out of his face and extended his hand out to his younger sister. "Because the ties between siblings are stronger than everything the world has to offer, thus establishing an understanding like no other." Her clear, blue eyes reflected an intensely icy stare as they met her brother's radiantly demonic crimson eyes. "I swear you are the epitome of gay." She spoke after moments of silence, her words causing Kai to laugh. He had always thought the same of Kaito because of his over-the-top, dramatic speeches. Even though he was created from his younger brother and shared his feminine appearance, Kaito seemed a little more in touch with that side than he was.

The four of them were heading in Kai's direction, possibly returning to the Korenji mansion. As they passed him, he noticed that they could not see him. /So this really is just another memory.../ He thought to himself, a smile surfacing on his lips that as he looked back on the past, the times when he was actually happy still burning brightly in his memory. However, his smile immediately dropped from his face as the raven-haired male who had accompanied him and his siblings and remained more to the back passed him. Unlike his siblings and the other people wandering the city, he was able to see him. The male's eyes were deprived of all emotion, a trait most appropriate for his appearance and indifference to the actions of the three people he had been with. His stare spoke the depths of his strength, which would most likely rival that of the white-haired female Kai had encountered easily, but seen more clearly as he locked eyes with Kai. After he had past him, Kai hesitantly looked back, watching as the male followed his younger self and his siblings, disappearing into a crowd of people chatting. An overwhelming feeling of familiarity came over him once again, eventually disappearing when the male was no longer in sight. The aura of that man was enough to freeze him in place. That wasn't all, though. Kai's heart became excited at the thought of clashing swords with him. Where was this feeling of trepidation, this unbridled excitement that reached every part of his very being come from? The anticipation he felt could only be satisfied by testing his strength against the mysterious person, a delight that would be everlasting.

"You're too weak to face him at this moment," a voice suddenly rang from behind him. Startled, Kai quickly spun around to face the person. As he did, the city around him disappeared in an instant, a black void taking its place. The figure who had called out to him was a little taller than he was, and wore traditional Japanese outfit, identical to that of Lady Oichi's, sister of the Demon King of the 6th Heaven Nobunaga Oda. The distinguishable differences was the many bright colors that made up the non-whites areas of the kimono. Instead of pink, the areas of the kimono were a lighter shade of red while the sash was a lighter shade of black. The person was also wearing a Fire Hawk mask, a valuable and incredibly rare object, that concealed their face, identity, and gender. "Your power as it is will not be enough to defeat him," the person spoke again. "I'm not strong enough, that's what you're saying?" Kai feigned a chuckle before instantaneously pointing his sword at the other, the tip aimed directly at their throat. The person neither flinched not attempted to defend them-self. "Heh, you're pretty brave. You do realize I can kill you without any struggle, right?" Kai said, lowering his sword just a bit. "You have a number of great challenges ahead of you. You will be put to the limit over and over. In order to avenge the people who were taken from you, to defeat the people you've lost to, and to have even a bit of hope in defeating that man, you must become stronger and overcome the obstacles that have been put in place in your road to achieving these goals and becoming the strongest. The members of the group you had formed and headed have survived the massacre and are looking for their first of your challenges is to find them, wherever they may be." The person finished their explanation. Fulfilling their duty, they turned their back to Kai and began walking away. "Hey, wait a minute!" Kai called out to them before breaking out into a run. His words were ignored by the person, who continued to leave. At the pace Kai was running, he should have been able to catch up with the masked figure with ease. However, no matter how quickly he ran, no matter how hard he tried, the person seems to get further away and the gap between them deepened. The figure eventually vanished into a flash of light, the same light that suddenly engulfed Kai to the point that he had to shield his eyes.

When he opened his eyes once again, Kai had finally awoken from his forced temporary slumber. He slowly sat himself, quickly realizing that he was no longer at the mansion. He was in the massive infirmary of the school, a room with numerous beds, a few medical cabinets, a television hanging on the wall, an office where the nurse worked and a window-side view of the mountains on the back hills. He slid off the bed and landed on his feet, the pain only less than present. As he stood, Kai noticed a note resting on the nightstand by his bed. He picked it up and read: "If you're reading this, that would mean that you're awake now. Well, you should head over to our dorm now. The number of the room is 316." For a second, he was about to tear up the letter when a thought occurred to him. "To OUR dorm? But that means..." Kai had began, but was almost immediately cut off by a familiar voice from behind him. As if by instinct alone, he drew his sword as he spun himself around, aiming it at the direction of the voice. There stood a woman wearing a lab coat. This was the doctor that had treated him when he had first arrived at the school. "Oh, it's you. Sorry about that," Kai apologized. He sheathed his sword and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a chuckle. "It's alright. Sneaking up on you probably wasn't a good idea," the nurse laughed, obviously unfazed by the fact she had a sword drawn on her. "Well, since you're a student here now, I'll introduce myself. My name is Dr. Sakura Minami, but people just call me Dr. Minami." The brown-haired nurse continued. "The name's Kai, Kai Shihatori. It's a pleasure to meet you," Kai replied. He took ahold of the nurse's hand and shook it respectfully. "Oh, the pleasure is all mine. Although, I do have a question for you. You wouldn't happen to be from the Korenji family, would you?" Sakura asked him. The mention of his family name surprised him, just as it did before. "Yes, I am. Why, is there something wrong?" He answered with a bit of caution being exercised in his voice. "You don't remember the times I've come to the Korenji mansion to do physical updates and treatment for you and your siblings?" She questioned. "Well, I don't really remember much about when I was younger..." Kai replied, his eyes looking off to the side. "Oh, I see. You've lost some of your memories. That's alright, you'll get it back eventually," Sakura replied optimistically. "I would love to chat with you some time about the past. but you should probably head on over to your dorm. Don't want to keep your friends waiting." She was right. Cordelia was probably becoming impatient right now. "That's true, I better be going!" Kai replied, running off towards the door before halting. "Oh, and Dr. Minami? Thank you for treating me when I first came here as well as now. You better get used to seeing me in here because I'll probably get into tons of fight in the future," he looked back at her with a mischievous grin. She chuckled softly and waved goodbye to him as he left the infirmary. "I guess he's taking after his father's love for fighting," she whispered to herself as she walked over to the window. Below, she could see Kai running towards the dorms, a smile crossing her lips as she had seen his father running in place of his son.

Fifteen minutes or so later, Kai had arrived at the dorm building where he and the rest of his team would be staying, along with the other teams of course. The building itself was larger than a standard school building, although it was understandable due to the many students that were attending school there. He pushed open the doors to the building and approached the counter where a lady with light pink hair dressed in a pink uniform was seated. "Hello there! Welcome to the Arrow Light Academy dorm building. I'm the building's secretary of sorts, Suzuki Matsuyama. You must be one of the new students here," The female greeted him. "Yes, hello there. My name is Kai Shihatori," Kai answered politely. "I didn't think that this place needed a secretary." A chuckle passed through Suzuki's lips from his comment. "Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I hear that," she said, regaining control of her composure. "The dorm building is sort of like a hotel for the students without the fees and bills. Whenever the students want to enter the dorms, they have to check in here first. This is how we keep records of who comes in and goes out as well as the times they did so," She explained. "That seems like a pretty efficient method to run this place," Kai complimented. A look over the counter made a few screens showing different parts of the building, keyboards, and panels visible. "I get the keyboards and stuff are to monitor the screens, but what are these extra panels?" Kai asked. "These panels connects the monitor is in the rooms to this desk. That means I'll be able to contact the rooms upstairs and deliver messages and such. It's really useful, actually. One of these buttons also trigger the alarm system and can shut down the doors, preventing anyone from coming in and out. Another calls in the security drones." She explained to him. "Wow, so this place is like a modern paradise. Oh, that's right! Can you tell me where room 316 is?" He asked, remembering that his team was waiting for him upstairs. Suzuki pulled up the room listings for the building on the computer as well as the matching locations. "Ah, yes. That would be the third floor. You can get up there using the elevator just over there," She answered, pointing towards the doorway to the left of the desk. "Alright, thank you. And have a nice day." Kai stated running off towards the entrance to the elevator and walking in. The elevator was circular in size and had a view of the outside. Along the doorway was a panel of floor buttons. Kai pressed the button marked for the 3rd floor, causing the door to close behind him. Just after it finally closed, the elevator began its ascent up to the floor destination. When the doors opened, Kai was left into a white hallway lined with brown doors with golden numbers on them and a solid black floor. His search began for the room that he was supposed to be heading to. After a few minutes of running around searching for the room, he finally came across it. Just as he was about to open the door, the door swung open. Standing in front of him was none other than Cordelia, a scowl fixed upon her face. "You're late.." She stated while she placed her hands on her hips. "Do you not see the size of this place? It's amazing." Kai replied, gesturing towards the entirety of the building. "Not as amazing as the dorm," Cordelia said, stepping aside for him to enter the room. When he walked in, his mouth nearly dropped at just the sight of the room. The inside of the form was vast enough to accommodate the 4 of them. The pale wall was lined with their luxurious beds with only the most exotic of sheets, mattresses, and frames, 3 of which had been claimed by Sora, Rosalie, and Cordelia. The beds were positioned in a "two to a side" placement; in other words a square. Across the room from the beds was a small stairway with 5 steps that led to another part of the room where a workplace was located. There was a table going across the center with a cabinet in the corner, a small fridge, a shelf, and a small chalkboard. In all actuality, anyone who had entered the room would assume that it was some sort of mini laboratory. To the left of the stairway was the bathroom, an exotic aroma emanating from it. To the right of the stairway was a door to their wardrobe, the place where most of their clothes were already hanging divided into 4 different sections. In the other half of the upper area was a room that had a computer in it. It was big enough to use for a game room or something. The dorm had a more futuristic appearance with the large screen monitor hanging on the wall. "Wow...it's like...no words. My words have failed me," Kai said, exploring the room that he do desperately loved and would be his new home for the next 4 years. When he returned to the bedroom section of the dorm, he found his teammates sitting on the sides of their beds. "We should discuss who we'll want to be our team leader," Rosalie recommended. "Wait just a minute," Cordelia interrupted, her eyes shut. When no one else spoke, she opened her eyes and continued on. "I think before we declare who our leader will be, there are some questions that need to be answered." She pointed her finger at Kai and then at the bed, the princess ordering him to take his seat on his bed. At first, he assumed she had been joking. However, he soon realized by the intense expression on her face that she was indeed serious. He walked over to his own bed and plopped onto it, sitting himself up rather casually. "So, what? Did you have something you wanted to ask me, Princess?" He asked. "Back when we were in the mansion for the Initiation, that girl claiming to be you said that you were a member of the 16th District Family and the last Korenji. But records and documents clearly state that the last Korenji had already been killed in Akihara Forest. Not to mention that the Korenji have only been able to call upon the power to manipulate shadows, just as you had told me when you woke up. However, after that whole thing outside the mansion, you've proven that you have the ability to manipulate both shadows and electricity. So just who the hell are you and why are you here? What is your story?" Cordelia demanded. He couldn't believe what he had just been told. He was him, Kai Korenjj, from birth up to that very moment. "Okay, joke's over Cordelia. This isn't funny." Kai chuckled nervously as the still-humorless face of Cordelia glared at him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo. She then handed the photo to him for him to see. "Here's the proof," she said. The photo was a picture of him laying in a casket full of flowers with numerous stab wounds. His eyes widened and his body had begun to shake. "That photo was taken at the funeral house in the 16th District. The body had been found lying outside of the city of Noshashida with multiple injuries from a sword. Everyone saw your body being placed into the casket because it was broadcasted across the Shadow Realm. So, I will ask you again." Cordelia unsheathed her sword after hopping to her feet and aimed the tip of her blade at the shocked blonde's throat. "Just who are you?" She repeated. "H-hey, calm down Cordelia..." Sora said, reaching his hand out to grab her shoulder. "Who am I? That's a good question..." Kai eventually answered, a chuckle passing through his lips. "And what's so funny?" Cordelia questioned his strange behavior. He had finally pieced it together: the creation of the female version of him and why he never remembered going out to train in the mountains where he had met Cordelia. "I remember...That day I left Noshashida..." He answered, the memory of that day now replaying in his mind as he retold the events of that time.

Kai was back at the 16th District, more specifically the path that was just outside of the city of Noshashida. His wounds had begun to reopen from his movement, but he paid it no mind. If anything, he had to get out of the city. He needed to become stronger, stronger than that girl he had fought and lost to in Akihara forest. He could hear them, the voices that told him he was weak, the voices that screamed in agony as if they were being murdered along with the sounds of someone being stabbed. But there was one voice that plagued his mind. "Would you like to murder the people who have done you wrong and anyone who gets in the way?" The voice asked him. He suddenly found himself unable to move, the touch of a person's hands against his back then his stomach, and then his back again. "Then let me take over and I'll find out who they are..." It was then that Kai had returned to his senses and found himself on the ground. Even though it had been raining, the ground seemed wetter than it should have been, a thick iron-like odor accompanying it. He slowly moved his eyes to the side, unable to move with the searing pain in his chest. At first glance, he realized that he was laying in a pool of his own blood, the most of which had accumulated underneath where the pain in his chest and back was. His eyes were blurry, almost completely unable to make out his surroundings. However, his ears could hear the swing of a sword followed by the sheathing of the weapon and the thud of a body. Footsteps made their way towards him until he could see the face of Lady Kai standing over him. She kneeled besides him and sat him up before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a white pill. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I need you not to die. If you die, then I will as well. "You'll be asleep for awhile, but at least everyone will believe you had died." She explained to him. He attempted to resist her, but his struggle was in vain due to his condition. Once the pill was swallowed, his body suddenly began to feel extremely heavy and sleepy. Because of his weakened condition, he was out quickly. When he had come to, he found himself sitting against a tree a little further down the road. He quickly patted his chest and moved about to make sure he was awake. His body felt perfectly fine, with the exception of his head and ankle. Had he dreamt the entire thing up? He sat back down and rolled over, his hand swaying back and forth at his side when he felt something wooden about the size of a crate on the other side of the tree. He hesitantly peeked around the tree at the object that he had touched. It was a casket, completely identical to the one in the photo he had been shown before the memory had come to him. Inside the casket was a small piece of paper with writing on it. He picked it up and found that it was a letter addressed to him. "If you are reading this that means you are awake. You're not strong enough to take revenge on the people who killed your siblings. You were so out of it, you weren't able to defend yourself from being stabbed by an assassin who was sent after you. You should just go back to the Ikuto Mansion. Just try not to die. Signed, The Better You."

"That should do it. Does that explanation satisfy you?" Kai said to his teammates back in the dorm room, looking from Rosalie to Sora and finally Cordelia. Having received her answer, Cordelia lowered her sword and returned it to its sheath. "I guess that would make sense." She admitted, sitting herself back on her bed. "Now that I think about it, there has been a question on my mind since the Initiation. I'm sure I can't be the only one who was wondering this. What happened to you before you suddenly just vanished from the face of the Earth for an entire year? I've heard the Council of the Shadow Realm had been looking left and right for you," Rosalie asked. Her question seemed to have a greater effect than Cordelia's, hitting a more personal level. Cordelia had heard a brief summary of the story, but Sora and Rosalie had yet to even hear it. Sora almost immediately realized that his partner's question may have been a bit too private to ask. "Of course, you don't have to force yourself to retell the story. We wouldn't want you to relive it," He assured him, sitting on the bed with Kai and placing his arm on the blonde's back. At the first touch, he felt the shivers running about his comrade's back. Kai remained silent for a few moments, his body trembling as his mind focused itself on that day. "No, it's...it's alright," he answered. The memory of that day was crystal clear, fresh in his mind as if that day had happened just a few moments ago.

The sunny, clear skies that had been present the day before were now teeming with gray clouds, an unpleasant feeling building within Kai's heart. It was only a few minutes to 10:00am. At that time, he and his siblings Sika and Kaito were discussing the planning of the next tournament. Suddenly, the emergency alarm went off all over the city of Noshashida. The only valid, common knowledge-based reason for the alarm blaring was that the city was under attack. However, there was no sight of the threat of an invading army surrounding the city like it usually did and the emergency evacuation alert that was supposed to give instructions to the citizens during every crisis did not go off either. By the time they had gathered the leftover forces within the city on the palace grounds, the mansion of the Korenji was surrounded by an army of at least over 3,000 soldiers dressed in shining red armor with a crimson cross emblazed in the center of their uniforms. In total, the Korenji army would number about 8,600 soldiers. However, they had sent over 7,000 soldiers to the different entrances to the town in search of the threat, leaving them with approximately 1,427 soldiers at the palace when the attack had begun. The only logical way the enemy could have entered the city would have been during the recent major tournament and their numbers increased over time since then. They didn't seem at all interested in the rest of the city; the soldiers were guarding the exits of the Korenji palace grounds, concerning themselves only when people tried to leave. The soldiers stationed inside left the palace and engaged the enemy in combat, along with Kai, Kaito, and Sika, and although they were able to minimize their forces, they were still at a grave disadvantage and were annihilated. When it seemed that the soldiers were closing in to finish off the three children of the Korenji family, they were interrupted by a man with fiery red hair and blazing eyes wearing the black uniform of a battle assassin, a killer for hire that fights a fair battle instead of attacking someone when they were in no position to defend themselves. The uniform consisted of a black cloak with a white shirt underneath and blue jeans. The logo of the army, the Crimson Cross, could be seen on the left side of his chest as he proudly walked through his forces toward the three young Korenji. "I hate that it has to come to this, but this is where you kids will die," the man said to them. Kai sucked his teeth, raising his middle finger to the man. "Cheeky little bastard, aren't you?" The male reached for the handle of his sword, pulling it from his sheath and assuming a battle stance. Before Kai could even see him move, the general of the army was already standing before him, his sword raised in the air over his head. Unable to react quick enough to the attack, Kai watched as the sword came thundering down on him. The clank of metal colliding was heard; Kaito had just narrowly protected his younger brother from the attack. The male was surprised by the speed of his block, eventually creating distance between them a few moments afterwards. "Ah, so the ill-mannered brat over there is the weakest. He shall be the last to go then," he stated as a smirk began to take form across his lips. "I won't allow you to continue this senseless killing. Tell me, what is the reason for this unprovoked attack?" Kaito asked, lowering his sword to a defensive battle stance. "Sorry, kiddo. Them's the breaks. I'm just doing my job," the male answered. "Now, let's get back to the game." The male and Kaito seemed to vanish from the spots, the sounds of their blades clashing following not long after. The desirable strengths of the two warriors were enough to make the ground tremor with every bit of contact they established; the images of their exchanges became clearer as well for a brief moment before they disappeared once again. Kai watched the battle attentively, eager to decorate the grounds with the general's blood. "Wow, they look evenly matched..." He commented. It was then that he felt someone grab ahold of his waist and carry him off into the air in the opposite direction. The smell of his sister hit him quickly, enabling him to identify her as the person taking him away. "What are you doing, Sika? It's not like Kaito will lose or anything!" He said, struggling to break free if her secure grip. "He's going to die.." The words of his younger sister were both cold and serious. "Th-that's ridiculous... Look at him. He and that guy are evenly matched..." Kai denied her statement's validity. "This is what happens when you skip combat lessons," she sighed. "No, their powers are on two different levels completely. We have to get out of here..." Sika told him, maintaining her hold on him. The sound of a crash back where Kaito and the Crimson Cross general were fighting and the crackling of fire caused Kai to look back towards the mansion. Both the palace and the mansion had been set ablaze, the flames engulfing the buildings. Debris from the burning home either fell to the ground and rolled out of the flames or turned into ash. In the distance, something appeared to be speeding towards them until finally it passed them. Before he knew it, he, along with his sister, was sent flying with a single kick from the general. They rocketed all the way back to the grounds of the mansion, rolling along the ground straight through the opened gates to the burning home. "Are you alright, Sika?" He asked, helping the blonde female back to her feet. "Y-yeah, I'm fine..." She replied, staggering a bit as she stood. When she lifted her head, a stream of blood flowed from his lip and a bruise from the impact of the kick was visible. Kai looked about for their brother, but could not locate him. "I don't see him..." He said. Sika pushed his hands away, displaying her tough, stubborn will to stand on her own power. "Looks like we have to fight this battle ourselves," she spoke, her voice shook as she attempted to speak clearly. The wind suddenly picked up intensely as the general dashed past Kai. This time, Kai saw the movement of the general, but it didn't appear to be going for him. He had been distracted, so he hadn't seen exactly what had happened. The sound of blood beyond coughed up caught Kai's attention. When he turned, he saw the general with his sword pushed straight into the chest of Sika. His eyes widened as the body of his younger sister fell to the ground the very moment the male pulled his sword out of her. "SIKKAAAAAA!" He called out to her, tears flooding down his cheeks like twin raging waterfalls. He dropped to his knees in despair as the light faded from her eyes just a few feet away from her. The general turned his attention to him, the broken warrior of a teen that had even dropped his sword when he had fallen. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be reunited with your beloved sister in just a few seconds," the male taunted him, slowly walking towards the blonde teen. Kai kept his head down and his body still; he was in the middle of trying to process the fact that his sister had been killed before his very eyes. As the general brought his sword down on Kai, just like earlier, Kaito swooped in, grabbing ahold of his younger brother and attempted to retreat with him. "Oi, snap out of it," he told him. Kai lifted his head, a bit of relief that Kaito was still alive. "We're going to her the hell out of here and we WILL survive." He continued on. Kai speechlessly nodded before moving on his own next to his brother. The soldiers had given chase, attacking with weapons such as swords, kunai, and arrows. As they fled, the two brokers deflected as many projectiles as they could and blocked as many strikes while taking out as many of the enemy soldiers as they were able to get their hands on. Determined to escape with their lives, they were running low on energy and now the only thing keeping them going was instinct. The gates to the forest to the north were in sight. "If we make it there, we will be home free. We'll be able to take them out a few at a time or just get them lost in there." Kaito called out to Kai. They were gonna make it; they believed that they were fated to live on. However, soon the remaining older sibling became the deceased sibling. Strings of threads had gotten ahold of Kaito's legs, pulling them from underneath him and dragging him back to the battlefield. "Kaito!" Kai yelled as he skidded to a halt just before the gate. Kaito struggled to break free of the threads, but was instead open for his wrists to be ensnared next, the threads returning him to the general. "Go on! You need to escape Kai!" He called back to him. In e again, Kai's eyes had begun flowing with tears, even as he pursued his captured brother. "No, I'm not losing you too, damn it!" He eventually lost track of the threads, but was inevitably led back to the blood-soaked battleground. When he arrived, he watched in horror as the general of the Crimson Cross plunged his sword into the chest of Kaito, just as he had Sika. When he removed his sword from the older blonde teen's insides, Kai ran over to his side, slowly taking his older brother into his arms. "Kaito? Come on, get up! You can't...can't die yet...I still need you!" His tears fell on the gradually dying body of his brother. "Kiddo...remember...these words...'Life...that is lost...can...only fulfill their last desires...knowing that...and forget themselves...or the ones...they lost...' So...don't forget...yourself...and...survive..." With those final words, Kaito gave one final smile before his eyes closed shut and his heart beat its final beat. Kai desperately tried to awaken him, even though he possessed the understanding that he was gone. He closed his eyes tightly as he pressed his forehead over his fallen brother's chest, his salty tears streaming down his cheeks while his teeth remained firmly shut. After a few moments of silence, he placed the fresh corpse on the ground. He rose to his feet without a single hint of difficulty, his head remaining bowed as he turned to face the murderer who had killed his siblings in cold blood. "Are you done grieving, kid?" The general asked, a dignified grin plastered across his mouth. Kai lifted his head slowly, a change in appearance now revealed. His oceanic sapphire eyes were now glowing a crimson red brighter than the armor of the soldiers, resembling the color of the blood. "I'm going to break you..." He finally spoke. Anger, hatred and murderous lust for revenge were all present in his tone while his expression supported the demonic nature of the violent crimson aura manifesting around him. The overwhelming force of the unbridled rage that fueled the aura caused the ground to crack in different places as a pillar of the energy erupted towards the very heavens. Everyone around the Shadow Realm could view it, feel the animosity and abyssal depths of its strength. Lightning made its way along the pat of the darker aura and caused his long, blonde hair to slight rise and blow with the powerful wind. "You think you can take me? Kill him!" The general gave the command and the soldiers advanced towards Kai. When they attempted to strike him at once, Kai vanished from sight, leaving a surge of electricity in his wake. The confused soldiers looked about for him, but could not locate him. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Kai appeared in the air. As he dropped down on them, he spun his body around in a blurring image, delivering a spin kick that knocked a group of them backwards into the air. He was unarmed and therefore was believed to be defenseless. What they hadn't know no was that Kai was a combat specialist who had undergone strenuous training in both fields of combat. His movement was lightning-quick, fast enough that it created electricity with every bit of movement. He fell a soldier with a single punch to the face before moving on to deliver a flurry of jabs to the ribs of another. He then struck the stomach of a third soldier, sending him into some of his comrades, and rebounded with a handstand into a corkscrew downward kick that created a lightning blast in addition to the lightning made with each movement. He followed this immediately with a kick using the same foot into the soldier behind him before rotating his body with his hands, knocking soldiers upward into the air left and right. He dodged a heavily armored soldier's giant halberd with a backflip, elbowing the soldiers behind him in the gut before rolling backwards in order to avoid a second swing of the halberd. He swept the feet from underneath yet another soldier, snatching ahold of the shield the soldier had been carrying while at the same time kicking him in the skull just in time to block a third strike from the halberd-wielding behemoth. When the heavy soldier struck the shield, Kai pushed the weapon up to throw the male off balance and struck him again and again with the shield to make him a bit frustrated. He then floated over him with a somersault and delivered a side kick to the side of his head. The disoriented soldier begun swinging his halberd about rampantly. Rather than block the attacks like he had before, the blonde warrior simply evaded the strikes with ease, using the bigger man's brute force to wipe out the soldiers. When they were down, Kai used his shadows to draw his sword to his hand. He ducked the halberd's horizontal strike, sidestepped the diagonal, and jumped over the vertical before landing atop the massive soldier's shoulders. As the male swung his halberd up to strike him, he leapt from his shoulders to the ground behind him. The male somehow rotated his body around to continue the swing downwards towards Kai. Kai rolled between the legs of the male, focusing electricity into his sword and slashing at the ankles of the male, resulting in the man dropping to his knees. He was unable to move, let alone stand."You know what they say. If a horse breaks its leg, put it out of its misery," Kai taunted while he slashed away at the human anatomy of the mammoth soldier, carefully torturing the heavyweight until finally he hoisted the halberd over his shoulder and sliced clean through the soldier.

"Very impressive," the general of the Crimson Cross remarked, applauding the display of strength and skill Kai had shown. "An elimination of my soldiers, a touch of irony, and a quote to top it off. But do you think-" His words were interrupted by Kai's sudden appearance in front of him and kneeing him in the crotch. The general dropped to his knees and keeled over; his hands were covering his lower body. He seemed a bit frustrated by the sneak attack, but attempted to laugh it off. "You've got guts, boy," he said after he created some distance between himself and the teen. Kai slowly turned to face his opponent, his crimson eyes falling on the male general with a glare that could destroy a man's pride and will to fight in mere moments, a threatening, almost apathetic expression fixated on his face. He blew his golden bangs out of his face; although it didn't show it, it was undeniably clear that he was just getting ready to deal out some big punishment. The general returned his blade to its sheath, an idea having formed in his head. "A hand-to-hand fight sounds more suitable for both of us. The only weapons will be our bodies." This proposal was a bit unexpected to Kai, but he remained indifferent to the situation. To him, the result would remain the same. He sheathed his sword just as the general had done earlier, much to the surprise of his opponent. "Good choice. Let's see what you're made of." The general sped towards Kai, a turbulence erupting from his dash. He brought his fist back and swung it at the blonde with the strength he had gathered from his advance. Kai responded with a block formed by the crossing of his wrists. However, before he could counterattack, the general fired away with numerous punches, a few of which he had blocked and the rest he had dodged. He circled around the general and attempted an elbow to the stomach. His opponent caught his arm and flipped over his shoulder. Upon the release of his arm, Kai corkscrewed his body in mid-air, delivering a swift downward kick. The general blocked his foot and flipped him backward into the air. The blonde twirled himself around to deliver a spin kick, which was blocked, and followed up with his fist flying after a forward roll. The general threw another punch, evading Kai's attack, only to have Kai vanish from sight for a mere second before reappearing on the ground and sending the adult skidding back a few couple of feet with a powerful kick to the chest. "I have to hand it to you, kid. You really know how to put up a fight. But can you handle this?" The wind began to swirl around the general, a tornado-like rotation gradually becoming physically clear. From the wind fired a ring-shaped blade of wind hurled from the tornado around the male in Kai's direction. Kai moved to the side to evade the attack. However, even though he had successfully dodged the attack, a stinging pain overcame his right shoulder in addition to the feeling of blood running down his body from his shoulder. Soon after the first ring, a second one followed. Kai once again moved to the opposite side to evade the attack. Yet just like before, he was struck with the attack somehow. What was going on here? He was certainly that he had dodged the attack. The general laughed at Kai's vague confusion with a hearty laugh of amusement. Kai dashed towards the adult male, his path zigzagging to avoid the attacks and he swung his fist at him. The strike was prevented from making contact by the tunneling wind acting as a barrier, even from the lighting that accompanied the punch. His instincts warned him of a blade of wind that would fire out right in front of him so he jumped backward into a handstand-somersault-backflip away from it before rolling off to the side. This time, the attack had clipped his leg, causing him to drop to one knee; yet his eyes never left his opponent, not even for a second. "What will you do now? You can't win against me. Just let me kill you so I can get outta here," the general teased him behind the safety of his barrier. This wasn't hand-to-hand, this was a fight with powers right now. Kai slowly returning to a vertical base, his eyes slowly closing while his arms fell to his side. "So, you've accepted your fate." The general couldn't help but bask in the surrender of his opponent. He fired another ring at the seemingly defeated blonde. The teen vanished just as the attack was about to hit him, an afterimage taking his place as he reappeared a few feet away. He had made some distance between him and the fading afterimage. Suddenly the wind's direction altered, causing the ring to make a U-turn and hurtle towards him for a second attempt to cut him down. "You don't get it, do you? I control the wind. You can't escape the attacks." The general laughed at the struggle of his adversary once more. Kai soon found himself on the defensive, evading the sharp wind that followed his every move. He hadn't wanted to resort to it, but it didn't seem like he had any alternative choices. He skidded to a halt and spun himself around with a pivot, extending his palm in the direction of the ring. From his hand a barrier was formed composed of his shadows. When the attack collided with the barrier, everything had began to fall into place in his mind as two impacts against the barrier. He took down the barrier, a sinister smirk having taken its place behind his demonic eyes. "You ask me for a hand-to-hand fight and yet you're using wind attacks to fight? That's pretty bold of you to break the rules," the blonde's voice had a more condescendingly evil feel with his words. "What's got you so high and might all of a sudden?" The general demanded. The tone Kai was taking was a bit...different. "Allow me to welcome you to a nightmare that you've brought upon yourself," Kai answered. Underneath his feet, a black circle spread outward, expanding in size until the distance from him reached about 4ft. From the circle rose shadows that moves about sporadically, changing their forms continuously. Red electricity surrounded them as they danced with a burning anticipation and an eagerness to kill. "What's that supposed to be? Are they supposed to scare me." The general bravely remarked. He sent a couple of his ring-blades of wind at Kai. However, the shadows, without a single gesture from Kai, sliced through the wind blades, the attacks never even coming close to him. "Aren't they just amazing? These are my Shadows. Energy used to create a shadow will either defend me on it's own or I can manipulate it basically any way I want. It's almost like you're ability to control wind, except I don't resort to cowardly techniques. The first attack you fire isn't at all really meant to hit the person, but to distract them from the clear, nearly impossible to see second one." Kai explained. The general was at a loss for words. When h was finally able to speak, the teen cut him off. "How did I figure it out? When your ring hit my barrier, more than one sound of impact. Before that, I had only been able to see the one at the time, but when I heard the second strike, I knew it was true." The shadows billeted towards the general before coming into contact with the barrier, the attack blocked by the wind. "This barrier is as good as indestructible. Even though you've found out the secret behind my Wind Razor, you won't be able to harm me! Hahaha!" The general yelled out to him. At those words, a smirk coated Kai's lips, matching the sinister glare in his eyes. "Not true," he said. Suddenly shadows erupted from the ground below the general like spikes, slashing and slicing at his body while the lightning waves overtook the wind, sending shocks throughout the general's body. As the wind barrier disappeared from sight, the male dropped to his knees, burn marks and cuts on several parts of his body. "When a tornado becomes too strong to attack from the visible angles, strike it from below," Kai said. "You can't...attack a tornado...that...doesn't make sense..." The general replied back. Kai slowly walked towards the general, unsheathing his sword as he stalked his injured prey. "Neither does what you've done to my siblings," he pointed out after aiming the tip of his blade at the male's throat. "Now, you're going to tell me why you've attacked us." The general kept silent, holding his determination to keep from muttering a single word of explanation even with the threat of death. "Well, you seem desperate to die. Since I'm such a generous person, I'll help you make it come true." Just as Kai was about to thrust his sword into the throat of the older male, the whirring of an engine overhead caught his attention, making him look towards the source. "A massive aircraft with the Crimson Cross insignia on it had arrived, possibly reinforcements. As Kai turned his attention back to the general, the wind user blindsided him with a wind attack before retreating to the safety of the ship. As the ship had begun to take off once again, Kai sent a shadow towards it, locking the ship in place, "You're not getting away!" He yelled out the to the ship. The doors to the aircraft suddenly opened up and a man with a brownish-red cloak and long black hair could be seen emerging from the vehicle. He held his palm outward towards Kai and a massive white blast of energy rapidly accumulated until he decided it was of desirable size. "Begone," he said before releasing the energy at Kai, who was occupied with keeping his enemies from escaping. When he saw the blast, he had to move out of the range of the attack, which forced him to let go of the ship. His decision was rather reluctant and as a result of his hesitation, he had been grazed by the attack. When he looked up at the ship, he became frustrated. "You will all pay! I'll make sure of it!" He cried out. His voice appeared to echo throughout the entire city. The Crimson Cross airship flew off through the air, probably headed back to their headquarters, a place of which he knew not.

"And there you have it. The most mentally and emotionally scarring moment in my life recounted in full detail for you," Kai said after telling them his story. The reactions of his teammates were somewhat sympathetic and sorrowful, just as he had expected. Sora and Rosalie were silently staring at the male blonde with regret blooming in their eyes. Cordelia, on the other hand seemed rather taken aback by his story. "How exactly did you remember everything about that day?" She asked, debating whether or not they should have asked him about what had happened. He looked over at Cordelia out of the corner of his eye. He dropped his head, his slight, half-way gaze still on her. "When something that horrifying happens to you, something so illogical and unfair, you'll keep seeing it in your head over and over," he finally answered. "Well, now that we got that out of the way, can we get down to the business at hand? We have to vote who the leader of our team will be and register our team name." They three of them nodded in agreement before returning to their beds. "I nominate Sora. Back in District 22, since that area is ruled by both of our families together, he was often called in to help with communications, battle strategies, and other political matters. People call him a natural-born leader," Rosalie immediately said before Kai could ask for any volunteers. Hearing his name, Sora turned to his partner with an embarrassed chuckle, his pale cheeks stained with a soft blush. "I wasn't /that/ good..." He softly replied with a small smile that, although it was out of nervousness, was brimming with modesty. "With all due respect to you two, but I think I should be the leader," Cordelia placed her hand over her chest as a gesture to herself. "If anything, I have great leadership skills that I learned from my grandfather and my recent IQ testing determined that I had an intelligence level of 118." She proudly told them. "Oh, then it's a good thing I brought this then," Kai said, shoving his hands into his pockets and pulling something out. As Cordelia shifted her glasses, she noticed the piece of paper in Kai's hands. "What's that?" She asked him. "This is the results of _my_ recent IQ test from Notaka High School. My childhood friend Mizuka tricked me into taking the test, saying that if I passed, she told me she would tell me where the best candy shop in the world is. I have actually graduated from there and was just visiting some of my old teachers when I ran into her. At first, I thought it would be better to leave it at home. But then I realized I could show off my intelligence to those less fortunate than myself," Kai explained. Cordelia snatched the paper out of his hands and analyzed the sheet carefully. After thoroughly reading it over, her eye twitched in annoyance. "An IQ of 131?!" She said, her grip on the paper tightening as her teeth clenched together. "131? That's amazing! You must be incredibly smart, Kai!" Sora remarked. "Well, I was taught growing up to gather as much information about anything I could. I've read every book in the library of Notaka High School and my father's study in the mansion. I've also founded and headed a large team, or an organization as most people call it nowadays, known as the Shadow Riders. Strategic planning and leading warriors like them was part of the job." Kai reminisced the memories he retained about his former comrades in the Shadow Riders and the numerous adventures they've had before their eventual disbandment. "What about you, Sora?" Cordelia asked, ignoring the blonde male's recollection of memories. Sora placed his pointer finger on his chin, a casual hum pushing his focus to think. "Truthfully, I think Kai should be the leader. Not because of his experience or anything like that. I feel some sort of... I don't know how exactly to put it, but something is telling me that making him our leader would be the correct decision. Call it a hunch," he answered. At that very moment, Kai had sensed something about Sora, a feeling of almost certain evil behind that innocent smile of his. He didn't exactly understand why this feeling suddenly overcame him, but he chose to ignore it for now. "I'm voting for whoever Sora votes for. So that makes Kai our new leader," Rosalie said, snapping her fingers in front of Kai's face to grab his attention. "Huh? Oh, right. I guess that means next we decide on the name of our team." The team put their heads together, brainstorming on possible names for their team name. "How about we do name drawing?" Rosalie proposed. "Name drawing? That computer program that generates a name based in the info that is placed into a text box?" Cordelia asked. She, like most people in the Shadow Realm has heard of it, but never really used it unless they really needed to. Rosalie opened her bag on the bed and removed her white laptop from the bottom. She placed it on the bed and opened up the screen. The sounds of her fingers hitting the keyboard was a rapid flurry of clicks. "Wait, the one by ElecPro or Project Z?" Kai questioned. "There are two?" Cordelia answered his question with another question. "Well, back in Noshashida, there are a couple of computer companies that often competed for top-selling products. I heard that one had recently released a program like that," he explained to her. "ElecPro was the company you're thinking of then. It's the top company in the entire electronic industry with the exception of electronic battle equipment which is currently held by Napolitano Industries. It's also ranked the top name-generator of this year and last, creating rivals that would stop at nothing to knock them off," Rosalie rejoined the conversation. "Wow, you really know a lot about this stuff," Kai commented. "Actually, I'm just reading it off the website," Rosalie shook her head and rotated the computer around towards them. On the monitor was the ElecPro screen with the Name Generator centered. It included various templates for the name generators searches as well as the description of the company that Rosalie had read to them and his it was founded. "We should try our first names first. Usually good things come from doing that," Kai suggested, reaching out to type in their first names on the keyboard as they all gathered around. Without a single warning, his hand was smacked away by Rosalie. "First, I want you to know that this is _my_ laptop. If you break it, damage it, or use it without my permission, even the ruler of the Underworld would be afraid to watch what I do to you." As she spoke, Rosalie's eyes gradually became diluted. Those cold, unfeeling eyes were staring daggers towards Kai, her threats clearly showing that she was in no way joking. The male stared directly back into her glowing hues silently, a transcendently unintimidated stare from his sapphire eyes responding to her statement. The two exchanged this stare-down until finally Kai slowly returned his focus to the screen. He typed the first names of himself and his team members into the text boxes and clicked the "GENERATE" icon. The page loaded for a few seconds before a list of results had come up with a number of acronyms using the first letter of their names, along with the words and phrases that made up each acronym. "Kings Crush Strong Resistance sounds pretty cool..." Kai stated. "You're forgetting that none of us are really kings," Cordelia argued. "What about Kids Could Stay Rivals?" Sora shook his head in disagreement. "I doubt that would really suit any of us," he said. They scrolled through the list of results, rejecting a majority of the names while setting a few on the sidelines just in case. "Should we try last names now?" Kai asked. Cordelia tossed the paper with their list of names onto her bed beside her with a sigh. "Might as well give it a try.." she replied, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. Kai typed their last names in the boxes and once again hit the "GENERATE" button. He didn't have to look far at all for one that fit the mold perfectly. A smirk formed across his lips when he read the very first entry. "This one will do nicely..." He said aloud. Behind him, Cordelia, Rosalie and Sora leaned over his shoulder to see what he had chose for their team name. Upon reading it, they all nodded their heads in agreement with their new leader's decision.


	16. Chapter 8-2 Memories and Identity

8-2 The Phantom Known As Kai Shihatori Chapter 8: Memories and Identity Part 2

"Students Naturally Considered Dangerous?" The perplexed headmaster of Arrow Light Academy repeated. In his office were Kai, Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie, who had prepared the name for their team and were ready to register it as one of the many teams of accepted students. "Don't you think that name will label you as delinquents or people who have too much confidence in their power?" The four of them shook their head in disagreement. "We know what the risks are and will deal with them as we come across them accordingly," Cordelia began. "If anything, it suits us just fine," Rosalie added to the statement. "After all, when you think about it, we ARE dangerous in one way or another," Sora cheerfully supported the decision with a chuckle. "Is that so? Last but not least, what about you, Kai? I had thought you would be the first to speak," Yuuichi asked, his red eyes falling on the blonde male who had been silently listening to what had been said with his eyes close and his hands behind his head. Kai brought his hands down to his sides and cleared his throat in preparation to voice his own opinion. "I believe that if any name could describe me and my team mates, Students Naturally Considered Dangerous, or SNCD for short, would be the best choice. Not only does it utilize the initial of each member, but it would be an accurate assumption of us when we are in battle. We've all agreed on the fact ourselves. Cordelia is dangerous when she is angry and because her mind works like a computer at times, Sora seems like he is a dangerously professional communications expert, Rosalie is dangerous when her electronics get broken, and I literally just saw a video of my fight at the Initiation and in the comments, people are talking about how scary I was even though my memory of the entire thing is a bit fuzzy. If people frown on us because of whom we are and what we stand for, then that's their own problem. We will stand by our name. As team leader, I will personally take out anyone who has a problem with me, my team, or anything about us." Headmaster Kitamura took a few moments to take in everything that had been said. After a while, he eventually decided on what to say. "If that is the name you have chosen, then I will register it." Yuuichi pulled up a monitor behind him while he typed on the keyboard beside him. On the screen was a picture of the four of them and three text boxes. The first was the initials of the members of the team, the second for the full name of the team "Students Naturally Considered Dangerous," and the third was for the name of their team leader "Kai Shihatori." When he had finished typing, the words "REGISTERED" appeared across the screen in giant red letters like a stamp approving the name. "There you go. SNCD is now an official team in the school's files of team registration," Headmaster Kitamura stated. "Now, remember that you will be together for the next 4 years. You must treat those years with the utmost care and become closer in order to strengthen your teamwork. Your team will be a second family to you. You may quarrel from time to time, you may not always get along, but working together and coexisting is the key to getting the 4 of you to the graduation ceremony. You came to this school from very different parts of the Shadow Realm for different reasons and knew nothing about the people who stand beside you. But as of this moment, you are proud students of Arrow Light Academy. Remember what you learn in the time you spend here and take it with you for the years to come." The team nodded before dismissing themselves from the office. Yuuichi heaved a rather happy sigh as a smile curved his lips. "That kid...he's going to end up like his father..." He said to himself, shaking his head.

As Kai and his team walked through the halls of the school, Kai's phone suddenly began to buzz. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out, flicking the screen open as he raised it from his cloak. It was a text message from the nurse from earlier. Hey, it's Dr. Minami. I forgot to mention to you that I took the liberty of putting my number into your phone. Hahaha. Well, you should stop by when you can. He read to himself. Guess it wasn't that important a message. "The sun is still out. Should we go someplace or do something to pass the time?" Sora suggested. "I want to try out the sweets in the area!" Kai immediately announced. He had been waiting for someone to suggest they check out the town nearby. A grin was plastered on his face, spreading from ear to ear. "I guess going into town would be a good opportunity for is to learn our way around the 8th District," Cordelia agreed with the suggestion. "I've heard that the shops here are incredible. They apparently have amazing stuff in the their stocks," Rosalie noted. The four of them immediately headed out of the grounds of the school and towards the town.

The town of Feliore, located in the 8th District, was one of the largest places in the Shadow Realm. Not nearly as well-known as Noshashida in the heart of the Shadow Realm, it is a highly-populated town with an increasing variety of attractions for residents and travelers alike. The 8th District was the fashion capital of the Shadow Realm, but Feliore was more of a trading town of sorts. Most people in the Shadow Realm venture there to find items they may be unable to acquire in other towns of the Realm. Merchants from different Districts come far and wide in an attempt to sell their wares and obtain valuable treasure and vast wealth. Because the town dwells near the ocean, it is also known as a port town for sailors and can be entered from many various routes. The buildings were assembled to have a modern feel to the shopping environment while some homes and inns were built with a more traditional atmosphere. A combination of both traditional and futuristic values, the town has been famous for its extraordinarily lengthy period of peace. It's not far from the school grounds of Arrow Light Academy, giving the students a place to go in order to pass the time when they are either finished with classes for the day or have off time. From clothing stores and markets to weapon stores and guilds, there was virtually nothing this town did not possess. This was indeed a town worth traveling to.

The town was bustling with people, the norm for such a popular shopping area. Kai, Cordelia, Sora and Rosalie looked around in awe at the beautiful the town offered them. "This place is amazing!" Sora exclaimed, taking in his surroundings with excitement brimming in his eyes. Rosalie strolled towards a nearby counter and grabbed ahold of a map before returning to the group. "Before we go, we should exchange numbers in case we get lost," Kai suggested. They each took out their cellphones and proceeded to give their phone numbers while updating their contacts list. Cordelia, however, was rather reluctant to hand over her number to Kai. "You better not text me any obscene pictures," she warned him once she finally decided to cooperate. "Oh, I won't," Kai whimsically replied as they proceeded to exchange numbers. "Hey, look guys. There's a candy shop here," Rosalie noted, pointing to the store located on the map. "We should gather the supplies we may need for school," Cordelia proposed. "Now, Kai, don't be running off- Huh?" She lifted her head in the direction of the blonde male only to find that he was no longer there. The three of them looked around them in an attempt at locating him only to find that he had vanished. Upon realizing that he was no longer in their area, their phones began to buzz. They each flipped their phones open and found that they had received a new text from Kai. Cordelia clicked on the message and scanned through it before reading it to herself. I've decided to explore the town on my own. You guys can do whatever shopping you have to get done. We'll meet back at the town entrance at around 7:00pm. That means you have about 2 hours and 30 minutes to get what you want. Happy shopping, kiddies! "Ugh. I can't believe we voted him as the leader of our team," Cordelia heaved a heavy sigh. "Well, at least he won't be around to annoy me while I do my shopping. It looks like we'll be doing our shopping separately." She continued, turning her attention to Sora and Rosalie. "That's too bad. I was hoping we could all enjoy shopping together as a team, but I guess this way is alright too," Sora replied; a bit of disappointment was present in his voice. "Perhaps we could do it another time. Anyway, I'll see you guys later. We'll rendezvous at the designated location when the time has ended." Cordelia waved to her friends before walking off in another direction, disappearing into the crowd. "Well, what do you plan on doing here, Rose?" Sora asked his remaining teammate. "I'll go with you wherever you go, Sora. That's what I plan to do," the golden-eyed female answered. "Fair enough. There's a store I want to check out that sells a bunch of spell books. Let's go there first." Sora suggested to her. Rosalie nodded in approval and strolled behind him as he led the way in another direction. As they walked away, they had not realized that their entire conversation, from even before Kai disappeared, had been overheard by a mysterious person.

Meanwhile, Kai exited the candy shop he had seen on the map with a large bag full of different brands and types of candy, happily humming as he wandered throughout the town. Coming from an incredibly rich family, Kai had great deal of wealth even though both his family and massive mansion were gone. His attention was suddenly captured by a store selling a variety of electronic equipment. As he approached the entrance, the door slid automatically slid open, revealing the way to a grand showcase of electronics of numerous designs and formats. There were shelves of state-of-the-art laptops, television sets and many others that were invented by companies all over the Shadow Realm. "I could use one of these. Especially since asking Rosalie every time would just be annoying and only a man with a death wish would ever touch her laptop," he said under his breath as he examined the designs of the laptops. "No way! I can't believe they even have this one!" He picked up a red and black laptop with an image of a golden phoenix with outstretched wings. This was his ideal design of his own creation, one that he had asked a company in Noshashida to make. He noticed that there was only one of them on the shelf as opposed to the many other duplicated laptops. This seemed a bit weird to him, but he simply shrugged it off and placed the laptop into a basket, lifting it off the ground by the handles. He then continued scanning the shelves for anything else that he might have wanted to get before entering the next aisle. When he eventually arrived at the counter, he had the laptop, a secret agent-like watch that possessed multiple additional features such as a built-in communicator and weapon-summoner, a silver high-tech hoverboard with incredible acceleration, and some programs to install. He slid his card down the scanner on the counter after placing his items on the counter. When the clerk looked at the monitor with the credit card information, he gasped in shock. "A-a Korenji credit card? But that means you're..." The man stammered. Kai flipped his hair nonchalantly when he recognized the reaction of the cashier. "That's right. I was born into the ruling family of the 16th District, the Korenji family. Although, Kai Korenji was the old me. Nowadays I go by Kai Shihatori," He replied. "This laptop...it was reserved for you. It's already been paid for and everything is already set up," the cashier said as he placed the equipment that Kai had purchased in a bag along with his receipt. "It's been reserved for me? Who reserved it?" Kai asked, raising his eyebrow in surprise. "I'm not really allowed to say who, but it was reserved a little over a year ago," the cashier said as he handed the bag to Kai. "Hmmm...Well, since I'm getting it for free, I don't mind at all." He laughed as he took the bag and headed towards the exit. "Have a nice day, young lady," the clerk called out to him. Kai stepped outside the door, a confused expression appearing on his face. "Young lady?" He repeated to himself. What did the clerk mean by that? He shrugged it off and made his newly purchased items disappear into his cloak, a special garment that would appear to be a bottomless vacuum of sorts when in actuality it act as a storage bin for most of his equipment operated by his Shadow Materialization that would allow him to make something appear as long as it was stored in the cloak. "Well, onto the next one!"

As Kai wandered through the town, he could feel the stares of countless men locked on him. They weren't necessarily threatening or otherwise dangerous to him and it didn't seem to bother him. He knew the reason that the men in this town eyed him. His blonde hair was rather long and neat, styled in a manner that it would give him a rather feminine appearance while his skin was also clear and quite soft for a male combat specialist. Even his preference in attire growing up was towards the clothes women wore. What made it more convincing that he was a woman was the fact that he never seemed to correct the people who have assumed that he was indeed one. Ignoring their comments, he entered one of the shops that sold weapons of sorts. The weapons that lined the store's shelves were in excellent condition and designed to look appealing to the customers. However, that was only to lure people into buying the same product for more money because they were a different color. He picked up another basket and gathered a number of swords and sheaths with different designs on them, a couple of guns, and a few materials to create and modify his own weapons. As he approached the counter to make his purchase, a shelf had captured his attention. On the shelf were Scrolls. Scrolls were electronic tablets that acted as manuals for expanding a warrior's arsenal, guides to strengthening themselves. A single Scroll could teach a person to control various abilities and powers. The downside was that some people were unable to learn certain abilities, no matter how great their level of skill was. A person would start at the beginner's level when the very first power is learnt. However, they could not move onto advanced abilities until they reach said level, which they could keep track of at any given moment. Scrolls were divided into various categories such as Elemental-Based Abilities- or EBA, Manipulation-Based Abilities or MBA, and Physical-Based Attacks or PBA, in order to increase the popularity while inviting new aspects of combat. That's weird. Why were there no Scrolls in the electronic store when it is an electronic device, but there are plenty of them here? Perhaps it's because people they are considered to be battle equipment? Whatever the reason, he picked one off the shelf and continued towards the counter. "Yes, I would like to purchase these," Kai told the male cashier behind the counter. "A woman shouldn't be in a dangerous place like this for men who enjoy killing." A voice came from behind him. Kai turned his head a little and glanced behind him, an annoyed look dressing his face when he saw a group of guys most likely in their late 20s standing behind him. "I believe you're mistaken," he replied back to them. The guy who had spoken to him was about average height with ginger hair, wearing ripped jeans and a black leather jacket over a white tee. His cohorts were a black-haired male with a face much like a typical delinquent around the same wearing a gray sweatshirt with navy blue jeans and a brown-haired male wearing a dark green T-shirt with cameo-style pants. "I just came here looking to buy some stuff, not to dirty my hands with the blood of some second-rate, lowlife thug trash." The red-haired male, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was not amused by Kai's response. "Bet you won't say that to my face, little girl." Kai placed his basket on the counter and rotated his body around so he was facing his harassers. His sapphire eyes stared deep into the very soul of the ginger as he walked towards the group, halting just in front of him. "I came here looking to buy some stuff, not to dirty my hands with the blood of some second-rate, lowlife thug trash," he repeated his statement, this time in a more condescending tone. The men shivered a bit from the cold stare they received from the blonde male that stood before them. Both intimidated and frustrated by the tone that he took with them, they hysterically reached for their guns when yet another voice called out to them. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." The three men turned to face the new party that had made its presence known. There stood the blue-haired male who had faced the Elder Tora during the end of the Initiation. He had bandages over a few areas of his body, including his cheek. "So who the hell are you?" The black-haired male demanded. "Why don't you mind your own business?" The brunette added. While they spoke, Kai turned around and returned to the counter, pulling out his credit card. The blue-haired male raised his hands up in front of him, a cheerful grin spread across his lips. "Oh, I don't plan on interfering. I just wanted to warn you that the girl you're hassling isn't someone you'd want to annoy if you knew who she was," he assured them. "Who is she, then? Tomboy of the Year?" The ginger snorted a laugh at his own joke along with his comrades. At that moment, Kai ran his credit card through the card scanner. Like clockwork, the cashier gave the same reaction the previous one had. "K-Kai K-Korenji?" The three men immediately jumped at the mention of his name. "Kai Korenji?! Isn't that the girl who survived not just one, but two attacks on her family and basically wiped an entire military force out?" The black-haired male spoke; his voice was on the verge of breaking out of sheer fear. Kai looked back at the group of men, a sinister smirk forming along his lips, causing the men to push each other out of the way just to get out of the shop. The blue-haired male laughed at the display of cowardly fright by the men. His laughter, however, stopped when he saw Kai walk past him holding his bagged items. He placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder, causing him to stop walking. "Hey. Got a minute?"

"You know, I didn't really need your help back there," Kai told the blue-haired male as they walked throughout the south-southwestern edge of the town after leaving the shop. The lower area of Feliore was the location of the town's park along with the plaza of the same name centered in the middle. Kai dug his hand into his bag of candy and pulled a pack of jelly beans from the bottom. He opened the pack, poured a few jelly beans into his hand, and placed them in his mouth, a delighted grin pulling his cheeks as the flavors partied inside his mouth. "I'm sure you didn't. But you had planned on fighting them, didn't you? That's one of my favorite stores. I saw your power before and you could have very well destroyed the shop if you had fought. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" the blue-haired male replied. "Think of it as me repaying you for saving me at the Initiation." Kai poured the rest of the jellybeans into his mouth, finishing off the rest, and placed a lollipop in his mouth as they walked up the stairs that led to the entrance of the plaza. The plaza was actually pretty large and beautiful, especially since there was a fountain in the center and streetlights circled around the outer edge of the area. There was also a railing along the edges of the plaza that separated where the stairways were to the north and the south while the ramps were to the east and west. Hearing the person's reason for assisting him, he suddenly halted, causing the other male to pause and turn towards him. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't save YOU. At least, that wasn't my intention." He paused for a moment and walked to the railing, leaning over the side facing the direction of the 16th District as if looking towards his home as well as the graves of his siblings. "I have my own personal reasons for getting involved. You just happened to be getting attacked at the time." Kai's tone had become rather serious, even more so after flashbacks of that day played in his mind once again, reminding him of what had happened. Sensing the change in mood, the blue-haired male sought to change the topic and ease the situation. "Well, whatever the case, I want to thank you for the assistance. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Fayt, Fayt Lidols, the leader of Final Crescent." The blue-haired male extended his hand out towards the blonde. Kai was rather hesitant in accepting the male's hand, naturally exercising caution since he knew not the man's true intentions. However, he eventually decided to take it as a way of being formal and shook his hand. "The leader of Team SCND, Kai Shihatori, at your service," he introduced himself to Fayt. "Well, it's an honor to meet you, Kai," Fayt said, a smile forming as their hands separated. For a few minutes after that, there was a silence between the two of them. Whereas Kai had nothing else to say to him, Fayt appeared to be waiting for him to speak next. It was then that Kai found himself examining the bandages and injuries he had suffered at the Initiation. "Hey, have your wounds fully healed yet? You took a brutal beating from those Tora," he finally broke the silence. "Oh, these? They're not fully healed, but I'm pretty well-built to endure pain." Fayt answered. "Do they hurt?" He asked him. "Nah, not really. I'm actually supposed to be resting, but I had manage to sneak out, so I decided to explore the town." He replied, placing his back against the railing. As he brought his gaze up from the ground, his eyes suddenly fell on something. "Hey Kai. Where did you happen to get that?" He asked, pointing towards the blue rose that was attached to the other's pants. Kai looked down to where he was pointing to and pulled the blue rose from his clothing. "Oh, I got this from some girl I didn't even know," Kai answered, handing him the rose. Fayt held it up so he could examine it better, a bit of surprise coming to his face when he brought it back down. "Wow, this is a genuine blue rose. There is only one place in the Shadow Realm where these are actually grown," he told the blonde as he handed it back to him. "Only one place in the Shadow Realm?" Kai placed the flower in his pocket and thought for a few moments, piecing together the logical factors of the whereabouts of the female with white hair who had given him the rose. Ever since he had received the flower, all information regarding it had mysteriously disappeared completely. Wait...That means.. Kai placed his hands on Fayt's shoulders and started to shake him violently. "Wait a minute! That means you know where the girl who gave me the rose came from! Tell me! Tell me where!" He demanded of the blue-haired male. Just before Fayt could answer his question, a crimson blast of lightning fired directly at them caused them to quickly jump away from each other. A voice that Kai was all too familiar with reached his ears, calling out to them. "Hey, hands off my leader." They both turned towards the direction the voice and the attack had originated. Kai's heart sank when he saw the female version of himself standing not too far from them by the fountain carrying shopping bags. She must have been out shopping or something. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing here, you crazy imposter?" Kai yelled to his female counterpart. "I came here to get some shopping done and get the supplies for my leader who is supposed to be in bed resting..." With that explanation, the female Kai's eyes darted towards Fayt, the cold daggers of her stare piercing his soul and making him stay put. The smile of the blue-haired male shook quite a bit, however it did not falter. She then returned her focus to the blonde male he had been talking with. "...and I come across you, the lesser of two powers. Did you try and lure me out here with my team leader just so you can get another beating?" Her words had a playful nature, as if daring him to fight against her again. Kai gritted his teeth together before turning it into a small smirk. "So, that's what I'm like..." He said, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he began walking towards her. "Now, now...there's no need to fight you two.." Fayt nervously spoke, stepping between the two in an attempt to prevent them from attacking each other. The two blondes of different genders stared directly past the blue-haired teen, their sapphire irises locked as their hands reached for their weapons. Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot rung throughout the plaza, causing them to pause. "That'll be enough of that," Cordelia's voice called out to them from behind Kai. She along with both Sora and Rosalie were standing at the east entrance of the plaza. "Fayt!" Yet another voice rang out, this time originating from behind the female Kai. A teenage girl with pink hair that ended around the center of her neck on both sides and eyes of similar color had just arrived on the scene on the west side accompanied by a male with short, black hair. The pink-haired female wore a pink and white skirt with a violet shirt that had a number of stars spread over it and the words "FIGHT TO WIN" in black on the center as well as white boots with pink in the toe parts and around the ankles. The male beside her wore dark green pants with a yellow shirt beneath a black jacket with the upper half of the male school uniform slightly revealed. The glasses that hid his amber eyes gave him the appearance of a librarian or some other reserved figure in society, his face more complacent and quiet than that of the female next to him. The others joined the sides of their respective leaders, lining up so they were all standing across from someone. "So, what will you do now?" The male Kai spoke, his eyes refusing to break the stare with his female counterpart. Before she could respond, the pink-haired female interrupted her. "Kamikaaaa! You shouldn't fight him. At least not now!" At the words of the girl, the female Kai quickly placed her mouth over her mouth. "I told up to stop calling me that," she told the girl in a low voice. The girl muffled a response, her words coming out a bit unclear. "That really isn't a bad idea, though. After all, we don't have any real way to tell them apart," Cordelia interjected. "Maybe giving them different names could actually work." Kamika's head jerked towards her, her sapphire eyes giving off a "Keep out of this" stare. The others nodded their heads in agreement and proceeded to brainstorm ideas for the names of the female Kai as if forgetting the events that would have transpired had they not shown up when they did and had switched to ridiculous. After a few moments of tolerating the poor choices of names they all threw about, Kai's indication towards her being an imposter notwithstanding, she stomped her foot against the ground causing a vibrant burst of electricity to surround her. "Damn it, fine, I'll go with Kamika! There, are you all happy?" The female Kai blurted out, much to the delight of the pink-haired woman. "Wait a minute. Aren't you guys Final Crescent, the top team from the Initiation?" Cordelia asked, looking towards Fayt. "Top team? They obviously aren't the top team because I'm not on it," Kai muttered under his breath, a satisfied smirk appraised on his face. Cordelia stomped on Kai's foot, possibly in attempt to hit all five toes at once. "The first team to complete the Initiation is not only basically guaranteed enrollment into Arrow Light Academy and the choice to join the Golden Hawks, but they are also named the top team of the 1st years at the school, competing in tournaments and challenges to retain their status until the end of the year. Do you seriously not know how this place works yet?" She was obviously annoyed with his behavior. Kai hopped about on one foot for a few minutes while holding his other foot before eventually returning to the lineup. "We would have made it first if so hadn't made your story so damn long," he told her. At this point, Cordelia leaned in towards her leader, their faces literally a few inches or so away from each other with a rival lightning clash connecting between them. "Um, excuse me," Fayt spoke, reminding the two of them that he and his team were present. Kai and Cordelia turned away from each other, their arms crossed firmly across their chests. "Anyway, as you said, we are indeed Final Crescent. My name is Fayt Lidols. You already known seem to know Kamika and since she appears to be Kai's female side, we'll even give her the last name Shihatori. The hyperactive girl in the pink is Reina Schaefferand the quiet guy with the glasses is Alastor Honnomushi." The team gave their individual gestures of greeting towards Kai and his team. "Well, I hardly need an introduction, but because you were so gracious enough to do so, allow me to introduce my team. My name is Kai Shihatori, the great leader of Students Naturally Considered Dangerous. The lady with a stare that could quite possibly intimidate an elder Tora over by the end is Rosalie Dilantre. The guy next to her who could quite possibly break the record for the most spells(if I knew how many he actually knew) and is a communications expert, Sora Cavalira, her childhood friend. And last but not least, the princess with more royal attitude than all of the ruling families combined with a logical viewpoint on everything except her own actions, Cordelia Napolitano." The moment his introductions had concluded, Cordelia grasped a hand-fuull of Kai's shirt, lifted him above the ground, and plunged her fist viciously into his stomach, sending him flying into the wall of the nearest building approximately 35 feet away from them, a crater resulting from the impact in the wall. "Is…he going to be alright?" Fayt asked Cordelia while her teammates went to go check on their leader. "I honestly hope not," Cordelia answered. For a few brief moments, her emerald hues had fallen on the other blonde female across from her. Something wasn't right about her, especially her claim to be the female side of him. She knew not the cause of her uneasiness, but she could not help but feel rather nervous, possibly worried. When Kamika realized how she was being watched by the other, her sapphire eyes attempted to catch her, shifting towards her. However, Cordelia averted her gaze, looking off elsewhere. "I think you really need to stop attacking me like that." The voice of her leader approaching them was the perfect excuse to distract her from the gaze of his lookalike. "When you stop with that ridiculous nickname you have given me, I will stop punishing you," she replied to him sharply. "Not even if the bones in my body were all broken in the exact same instance, set ablaze, and fed to the dog of Satan," Kai's response provoked a violent twitch of Cordelia's brow, a clear sign that she was frustrated enough to fight. Seeing this, Rosalie and Sora immediately took ahold of her arms to restrain her from attacking him yet again. "Fayt, aren't you forgetting something?" Alastor spoke for the first time, his words catching the attention of Kai and the others. His voice was sophisticated, containing a tone that clearly expressed his intellect in comparison to the others. Even as he spoke, his eyes never seemed to leave the book he had removed from his bag. "Oh! That's right!" Fayt slipped his hands into his pockets. He then pulled out Golden Hawk badges and what appeared to be ID cards, exactly 4 of both with each card having the names, faces, and data of Kai, Sora, Cordelia, and Rosalie on them and handed them to each of them," Looks like we'll be seeing you around, fellow Golden Hawk Members," he continued. The four of them were in shock. Disbelief over their acceptance into the Golden Hawks put them at a loss for words. "Well, until we meet each other again. See ya later," Fayt turned and walked past his team members, who then proceeded to follow after him. The last member to leave Kamika seemed to direct her gaze solely towards Kai before departing. "Oi, Fayt!" Kai called out to the leader of Final Crescent, causing the blue-haired male to pause. "Rest up and get better soon. I'll face you anytime, anyplace, but only when you are at 100%. By the end of 4 years- no, by the end of this year- we'll see who the better team is and who the strongest of the leaders are!" Kai's words seemed to amuse Fayt, a chuckle escaping the man's lips. "Alright, then. May the best team and team leader win," the blue-haired male leader called back to him. He raised his hand over his head and waved to them as he resumed his walk back in the direction of the school. Kai gracefully spun around to face his team, a large smile on his face as he looked on the faces of his teammates. "Now then, we should be heading back too," He said, turning another 180 degrees and running off towards the school, causing his team to follow, struggling to keep up with him. There was no doubt that their goal had been set for the end of the year and they would need to prepare like crazy if they were to even come close to achieving that goal.

"All I'm saying is that you guys could have gone back to the dorms if I didn't meet up with you at our rendezvous point," Kai said as he, Cordelia, Sora, and Rosalie entered their dorm. "Cordelia had suggested that we go back and get you," Rosalie responded. They all placed their bags on their individual beds, removing their purchased items from the bags and laying them out on the bed before seating themselves. "I would have been fine," Kai said, before opening the screen of his new laptop. He pressed the power button on the uppermost area of the keyboard and waited for it to turn on. "You were planning on fighting that girl again if you saw her. That's why you ran off ahead. Had we been there with you when she had showed up, you knew we would stop you. I realized that when I looked into your eyes when we arrived." Cordelia's explanation caused Kai to go silent for a few moments, unable to figure out a way to argue her sound logic; not to mention that it was indeed the truth. Had he come across Kamika at any given point that evening, he was going to fight her either way. "What, were you that worried about me?" Kai finally spoke, his teasing demeanor once again showing itself. Cordelia groaned in disgust at his remark; his attitude was the one thing that she could not take or understand. She finished organizing her books in the order of her schedule and placed them into her bag. "Worrying about you would be both a waste of my time and impossible for me to do," she replied, rising to her feet and stretching out her arms. "I'm getting in the shower." She walked towards the bathroom, pausing at the door to the restroom. Kai could feel at that very moment the murderous glare directed towards him coming from her, her emerald hues narrowed back at him as she spoke once again. "Peek and I will end you," her threatening words secretly sent a shiver down his spine as they reached his ears. "Yeah, yeah," Kai waved to her as the screen of his laptop went dark for a few moments. Cordelia entered the bathroom, the sound of water running following soon after. The screen of his laptop finally reached the login screen, but there already seemed to be a user available for login in. The name of the user was CV with an avatar icon of a Phoenix. Huh? That symbol…That would be the Korenji symbol, but it looks…different. A black Phoenix surrounding by flames… Kai set aside his cautious thoughts and decided to click on the session. The screen once again went black for a few seconds, this time transferring him to the "START" menu. The background of the computer seemed to be the same design as the one for the avatar icon, only this one had words that would read "Crimson Valkyrie" at the top center above the Phoenix in black. He went into the mail program where he was prompted to register with his primary email address. After setting up his email, he continued forward with updating anything that would need to be updated. Upon finishing all of that, Kai couldn't help but feel the awkward separation in the room. It felt as if they were all doing their own thing. Cordelia was still in the shower, at least to the best of his knowledge. Rosalie was cleaning and loading ammunition into her new guns, a thorough care being taken for her gear. Sora was looking through and organizing the new tomes he had bought in Feliore, fitting them into his collection based on the alphabetical order titles. He then remembered the vow that he had made back in the plaza. By the end of 4 years- no, by the end of this year- we'll see who the better team is and who the strongest of the leaders are! Figuring out how to go about that would be a lot harder than just saying that. At least he understood that much. Final Crescent was the first team to complete the Initiation, giving them a guaranteed position as the top team of this year. Since SNCD finished a little close to last, they were basically at the bottom of the rankings. Because they were at the top, Fayt and his team would be defending their positions against teams that challenge them. With every victory, a team would either rise up the ranks or remain in their position should they already have a higher ranking. Should they get enough victories, the position of top team could change hands. As team captain, it was his duty to get them to the top of the ladder. "You know, I've been thinking..." He spoke aloud, breaking the intense silence in the room. "We have never really fought as a team before. If we are going to get to the top, we'll need to improve our teamwork and fight our way up." Sora and Rosalie directed their attention from their previous activities towards him. "What's this? A team discussion?" Cordelia's voice came from behind the bathroom door, which opened right after she had finished her statement. She emerged from the bathroom wearing a black tee with "Napolitano Industries. Providing you with the newest combat equipment, materials, and technology for centuries." written in the center on the front of the shirt in golden letters in cursive. The lower half of her body was covered by a skirt with various gems and jewels perfectly designed to line the surface. Along with that, she also wore black stockings that went past her knees. "That's a good call. We barely know each other and I can only assume that we will be doing things as teams, so we will need to learn more about one another so we can cooperate in battle," she continued on. "Well, now that we're all here, we can get started," Kai announced. He opened up a word document on his computer and made "SCND Battle Strategy" the title. He then typed their names, dividing them into sections. "Now then, what we will be doing is telling each other a little about ourselves along with some information on our battle areas. Most importantly, our types of attacks, the range of said attacks, some of our abilities, etc. And we'll be starting with Sora," Kai declared, pointing at the other male in the room. Sora jumped from the sudden volunteer to start them off. He obviously hadn't expected that he would be the first. "Well, um...hello everyone. My name is Sora Cavalira. I am from the 22nd District's first ruling family the Cavalira and a skilled military strategist. For the most part, I wield tomes in battle and possess a vast number of spells from attacks and defensive spells to healing and stats boosting spells. But I tend to switch to either long-distance or mid-range attacks using throwing knives. I also have an ability that allows me to change the tome I'm using in battle and automatically open to the pages of the spell I want to execute. And I think that's about it." Sora's descriptive introduction was transferred to the document under his name word for word by Kai while he spoke. He took a strawberry lollipop from his pocket, removed it from its wrapper, and placed it in his mouth, allowing it to hang out the side. "Rose, you're up next," he said, pointing to the red-haired woman. "My name is Rosalie Dilantre and I'm also from the 22nd District, the second ruling family of Dilantre. Our families rule the District together. I am an electronics expert with a bit of experience in the field of technological development. I specialize in attacking from a fair distance with guns, but I'm by no means a slouch. Far-range and mid-range attacks are where it's at, but I can also compete at close range. I prioritize dealing with enemies in attacks that strike at a wide range, usually to knock back enemies or deflect attacks in order to take them out quickly. I carry throwing stars and guns, but I sometimes use a staff or my nunchuks in battle," she spoke with a bit more emotion in her voice than usual and seemingly enjoyed talking about herself. "That would mean I am next, correct?" Cordelia asked Kai. "Yep, that's right," he responded with a thumbs-up and a grin. "My name is Cordelia Napolitano and I was born and raised in the 28th District. My father is the CEO of Napolitano Industries, a business conglomerate that manufactures and sells battle equipment such as weapons, uniforms, and electronic equipment. Although I am considered a weapon specialist, I would rather prefer to alternate between weapon-based attacks and elemental attacks. That being said, I have learned to use most of the equipment and weapons my father's company develops. I choose to handle my battles with skillful grace, thorough planning, and gradually break my opponents down. My attacks are long-ranged, mid-ranged, and close quarters combat. I came to this school to improve my combat ability, but that is not my main objective. My goal is to find my mother, who had gone missing since I was a child. I know she's out there somewhere and I will find her," Cordelia told the rest of her team. Kai stretched his arms out with a yawn, preparing for his own introduction. "Guess it's my turn now," he chuckled a bit. His smile then suddenly dropped from his face, a serious expression taking its place. "The name's Kai Shihatori, the prince of the 16th District's ruling family. Or should I say the once proud ruling family of the Korenji. I'm pretty confident in both my leadership skills and my abilities. I'm always looking for a strong opponent and I'll never back down from a fight. While I am perfectly surely that I shouldn't be at all, I can say that I am one of the most sinister, mischievous, and destructive person you will ever meet in your lives. I have the ability to manifest and manipulate shadows in any way I so choose. According to the videos from the Initiation, I apparently also have the ability to call forth lightning and wield electricity, but I'm sure I would know if I had that kind of power." He paused for a moment and took the scroll from his bag and of electronics, holding it up for his teammates to see. "I plan on regaining that power with the help of this scroll," he added before placing it down and returning to typing. "My fighting style is unique in the sense that it cannot be described completely and accurately in words. Most people have claimed that I am just another flashy fighter. Some suggest that I am just outright destructive as a person. I, on the other hand, say that they are all wrong. There really is no actual fighting style other than the fact that I combine those two claims in order to create a combination that exceeds their beliefs; a forever-changing fighting style. I am a master of basically all ranges of combat, but I love taking the fight to the enemy with a front row seat. I utilize a variety of different weapons during battle, including a sword that has the ability to transform into all kinds of weapons. I believe the best strategy in battle is to destroy your enemies without letting them see your entire arsenal. Oh, and sweets are by far my favorite thing in the world," he finished off his description with a bite into the lollipop in his mouth. "Okay, so I've documented all of the information we've shared today and have been thinking of battle strategies and formations that they would all fit in." He turned from himself so that his teammates would be able to look over his work. "Wow, I can't believe you typed all of this while we were talking," Sora commented. "I must say that is quite impressive.." Cordelia remarked at the other blonde's exceptional typing prowess. "Yeah, I decided we should go over something like this. Anyway, we should go over the battle positions first," Kai suggested to them. "As good as this stuff is, we should probably be getting to bed. The first day of classes is supposed to start tomorrow at 8:30am sharp," Rosalie informed them, motioning towards the clock that displayed 11:32pm in digital. "Is it really that late? We better get to sleep!" Sora exclaimed as he quickly got changed into his pajamas before hopping into his bed. Cordelia flipped the light switch off and the girls returned to their beds. Kai watched as they pulled the sheets over them, a sort of distant look on his face as he looked over them. His mind seemed to have taken a trip elsewhere, leaving him thinking a thought that he hadn't expected to be thinking as he closed his laptop screen, placed the computer on the nightstand beside his bed, and laid back with a heavy exhale. _What am I doing here? I should be preparing for my fight against the Crimsom Cross, not wasting my time at this school. How did I allow myself to get pulled into all this? I don't know much about these people and there is still so much I haven't told them. Besides, for all I know, they could be aligned with those Crimson Cross bastards._ His inner doubts and concerns were interrupted by the sound of Cordelia's voice. "Hey, leader..." She spoke softly to him so as to not wake the team next door, but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear her. "Hm?" He responded back to her. "Sleep well," she continued. Sora then repeated her statement followed by Rosalie doing the same. _What am I thinking? I'll most likely learn a lot by going along with them. Aside from that, for the few years I will have known them, I may find some excitement in hanging around them. They are already turning out to be a bit interesting even though I've only known them for a few days._ He remained silent for a few minutes, a smile eventually forming on his lips. "You too guys. Rosalie. Sora. Even you, princess. I'll make sure you all meet your individual goals...Just you wait..." He breathed out another yawn before he slowly fell into the land of dreams.


End file.
